That Hug
by Soul Stealer 2K4
Summary: *ON HIATUS* That hug. That one, all too brief hug. It had consumed him like nothing else he'd ever known. HiroGo pairing.
1. That Hug

That hug.

That one, all too brief hug.

It had consumed him like nothing else he'd ever known.

To say that Hiro was completely unfazed by Go Go would be untrue – their first meeting at the Robotics Lab had certainly left a lasting impression on him. Of all the things he expected to find in the 'nerd school', this awesome female speed demon was not one of them.

Aside from thinking how cool she was, he hadn't thought much more of her.

After his brothers funeral, when she and the other students gathered together to be there for him and his Aunt Cass, he still saw her as just one of Tadashi's friends.

Even while designing the armour and weaponry for the newly established team of superheroes, he was equally impressed by her as he was by the others.

But after it all went down at the abandoned Krei Tech lab, and his teammates came to see him in his garage workroom, she pulled him in for a comforting hug.

And something changed.

A peaceful sensation swept over him as he listened to her heartbeat. Her warm and sincere embrace felt so reassuring, so soothing; in that one moment, he was overwhelmed by a strange feeling. All too soon, that hug was over, and he found himself looking directly into her soft brown eyes as she reassured him that they would stop Professor Callaghan.

That was almost two weeks ago.

Their bittersweet victory over Callaghan had been all over the news. After the battle, Hiro finally felt ready to move forward and had registered at San Fransokyo University the very next day. It had been a challenge – even for a prodigy like himself – to rebuild Baymax. He would have finished sooner, had he not been distracted every time Go Go walked past this work space.

The POP of her bubble gum made him jump.

The sound of her footsteps made him freeze up.

Every now and then he would glance over at her, only to feel his face burn furiously when she caught him looking.

Even now, as he sprawled across his bed, he was so confused.

He was acting so strangely, and all over a girl; it was just weird. He looked over at his brother's side of their shared bedroom, if you could even call it that – Tadashi was a such a nice older brother that he let Hiro take over two thirds of the room with his chaos, leaving the older boy with what amounted to an alcove-like corner for himself.

"Tadashi…" He mumbled.

Hiro sat up and sighed. No doubt he would never get over the pain of losing his brother, but he was comforted by the creation he left behind.

Baymax currently stood in his red charging dock, silent.

"Ow…" Hiro said out loud, knowing that Baymax would hear it and activate.

Sure enough, the white squishy robot opened his eyes and turned to look at the young boy.

"Hello Hiro," He said. "Do you require my assistance?"

"Baymax, my head is all over the place, think you can scan me and see if there's anything wrong?" Hiro asked.

"Of course," He replied as the whirring of his scanner rang out. "Scan complete."

"Well?"

"You are experiencing a rise in oxytocin, dopamine and norepinephrine levels, your serotonin levels have decreased and there is an increase of blood flow in your prefrontal cortex," Baymax announced. "Diagnosis; interpersonal affection."

Hiro raised an eyebrow at the marshmallow-like robot.

"What you are going through is perfectly natural," He insisted. "Commonly known as being in love."

"What?" Hiro yelled, almost falling off the edge of the bed.

Love? Seriously? No, there was no way he could be in love with Go Go, he'd never even had a crush on anyone before! Not to mention the age difference between them; he wasn't even 15 yet, and she had to be at least 18 years old! No. He refused to accept it. There must be another explanation – Baymax probably needed rebooting or upgrading or something.

"Can't be that, Baymax, it's probably just a virus," Hiro maintained, shaking his head. "We should take a look at your programming, make sure there are no bugs in your system."

"I fail to see how there could be bugs in my system," Baymax answered. "Tadashi programmed me with firewalls to prevent malware infection when downloading additional healthcare data; the diagnosis is accurate."

"Baymax, I am not in love with Go Go!" He snapped.

"What?" gasped a female voice from behind him.

Hiro turned around to see his Aunt Cass standing at the top of the stairs leading into his room. Immediately he hid his face in his hands, the only way this could be more embarrassing was if it had been Go Go herself standing behind him.

"Hiro," She smiled. "Are you in love with Go Go?"

"Yes, I mean, no, I mean… ugh… she's awesome and I respect her, but it's impossible," He denied as his face started turning red. "I can't be in love with her."

"Why? Doesn't she like you back?" She wondered, smile fading slightly.

"It's not that, I don't even think she sees me as anything but Tadashi's little brother," He frowned. "And this is all just way too sudden, you know, I haven't known her long enough to even have a crush on her."

Aunt Cass smiled again, leaning down so she was face to face with him.

"Did I ever tell you about how your parents met?" She asked.

"Yeah, you told me they met at school."

"Well, that's not the whole story," She admitted.

Hiro looked up at her with confusion and doubt written across his face.

"Your mother was in her senior year of university, and was doing tutoring on the side to earn some extra money," Cass mentioned. "Your father was in his junior year of high school and failing math; badly."

Hiro eyed her sceptically as she continued the story.

"Our parents had no issue with her tutoring him, until they started getting close," She stared off to the side, her eyes glassy with nostalgia. "She used to go on dates all the time, but after just three weeks of tutoring your father, she started to refuse everyone who asked her out."

She sighed.

"One night she confided in me that she just didn't see herself with anyone else, that she was willing to wait for him to be old enough for them to start dating exclusively," Aunt Cass's face turned semi-serious for a moment. "She told me that during one of her many arguments with our parents over the subject, mom had called her a cradle robber for liking someone younger than herself."

She watched as her nephew glanced at the floor guiltily, as if he blamed himself for an argument that took place years before he was born.

"Hey, everything worked out, otherwise you wouldn't be here," She held his cheek and moved his face so he was once again eye to eye with her. "My point is, how long you've known a person doesn't decide your compatibility."

"But…" He stumbled. "Even if – and this is a big if – I am in love with her, she's still four years older than me."

"If she likes you back, the age gap won't be a problem." She assured him. "Your parents had an age gap of 6 years."

An awkward silence passed between them.

"Listen, I've gotta get ready to open up, but think about what I said okay?"

Hiro looked over at the clock on his desk. Time was getting on and he really needed to leave for class soon. With a heavy sigh, he grabbed his bag and headed down the stairs; Baymax instinctively followed. The university was a good half an hour walk from the Café. As he waved goodbye to his aunt and started the journey, his mind was overflowing with thoughts.

The more he thought about it, the more he realised that maybe – _maybe _– Baymax was right. Of course from a robotic perspective he was always right about these things, after all, his entire reason for being was to accurately detect what was wrong with a person and treat them for it. Perhaps whatever it was he felt for Go Go had been there since they first met, and it was only now that those feelings had evolved into something more definable.

He had been so lost in his thoughts that before he knew it he was walking through the doors of the robotics lab.

"Yo, Hiro, Baymax, over here!"

It was Fred in his mascot suit, waving them over to where he was practicing his sign spinning.

"Hey Fred, 'sup?" Hiro grinned.

"Oh, nothing, just working on some new moves for the open day next week," He said. "You working on your microbots today?"

"Yeah, I was thinking about adding an inhibitor to their programming," Hiro answered. "They were a great idea but the incident with Callaghan made me realise how easily they could be exploited."

"Awesome," Fred smirked.

As Hiro and Baymax headed into the main part of the lab, he looked around to make sure the coast was clear. There were a few other people in there, working on their own projects, but no sign of Go Go. Hiro breathed a sigh of relief as he walked through to his work space in the far corner. Most people liked working in the open area of the lab, but he preferred the quiet and seclusion of his brother's old office at the back.

"Hey Wasabi," Hiro called out.

"Hiro!" He smiled and waved.

Hiro approached Wasabi's work space, where he appeared to be working on his superhero armour.

"Should you be working on that in here?"

"Shh," He whispered, shifting his eyes from side to side. "I'm only doing a bit of tweaking on it while it's quiet – most students don't show up until after lunch so I figured this was the best time to do it."

Hiro rolled his eyes and smirked at his teammate's brazen decision.

"Have you made the plasma blades more jagged yet?" Honey Lemon yelled over the music in her earphones.

"Honey!" Wasabi snapped. "You wanna tell the whole lab?"

"Sorry," She apologised, pulling her earphones out and lowering her voice.

"I'm still working on it," He told her. "It's taking longer than I thought."

"You're making them jagged?" Hiro questioned.

"It'll be just as accurate but will do more damage." He replied proudly.

"I'm sure it will be amazing when it's done." She smiled.

"Well, let me know if you need any help," Hiro offered as he continued on his way.

As he opened the lab door he noticed Baymax had followed Honey Lemon over to her desk to see what she was working on. Hiro chuckled to himself – Baymax was a complex machine programmed with 10,000 operations and procedures but he also had a curious streak that sometimes got the better of him.

He went over to the window and put his bag on the side table. Suddenly, he was struck by the feeling that he wasn't alone. He whirled around to find Go Go standing in front of the door with her arms crossed, blocking his only exit.

"Uh, hi Go Go," He mumbled, trying to avoid eye contact with her. "How's it going?"

"Fine, thanks," She said, popping her bubble gum.

She began to approach him, and he quickly backed away and sat in the swivel chair by his desk. He grabbed his notebook and a pen and started making notes on how to integrate an inhibitor into his microbots, desperately pretending not to notice that she was standing right behind him. His face was burning up at her mere presence.

Go Go leaned over him, trying to see what he was writing. Hiro froze completely. The feel of her body pressed against him was creating a lot of problems – he couldn't even think, let alone attempt to move away from her. Part of him didn't want to move, she was providing him with the sweet warmth he craved since that hug a couple weeks ago.

"I don't think that's going to work," She commented as she observed his writing.

"Oh." He managed to say in response.

Still leaning over him, she placed her hand on his forehead.

"You have a fever, and you're acting weird – well, weirder," She said. "Want me to get Baymax to take you home?"

"I'm fine," he squeaked.

She stepped back and moved his chair round so she was looking down at him.

"You sure you're okay?" She popped her gum again. "You seem really off."

He refused to look at her, knowing that his already red face would probably go even redder if he saw those sparkling brown eyes of hers.

"Listen, Hiro, we need to talk."

Immediately his heart sank and he continued to look away from her.

"I know we're teammates," She began. "And I know nothing should get in the way of that…"

Suddenly it was she who turned away. Slowly, he dared to glance at her, only to see that she too had excess colour in her cheeks. She sighed heavily.

"Look, there's something you need to know."

Go Go started drifting around the office.

"When your brother died, everyone here was hit hard by it – I can't imagine how hard it was for you," She softly crossed her arms, holding herself. "I was so happy when you started hanging out with us, it was like we had him back again."

She leaned against a wall while Hiro stared at his feet.

"I get so confused when I look at you, Hiro, you make me feel things; things I don't understand."

The teenage boy wondered where she was going with this. It couldn't possibly be going the way he began to suspect it was.

"At first, I thought it was because I missed Tadashi, but you aren't Tadashi," She stated bluntly. "Even when I realised that, those feelings didn't go away."

Go Go began wandering around in a circle. Why was this so hard for her? She was being completely silly.

"I don't want you to think badly of me, but you need to know this, and I can't keep it to myself anymore." She took a deep breath.

He couldn't help but notice the colour of her cheeks had gone from light pink to a heavy magenta.

"Hiro…"

She saw a glimpse of interest on his face, like he really wanted to hear what she had to say. He also seemed to be blushing as much as she was.

"I… I like you, okay, a lot," She finally said, rubbing the back of her head nervously. "I like you so much that it hurts, literally hurts, when we're apart."

He stared at her in disbelief.

"I know this is girly and stupid and this isn't who I normally am, but keeping it a secret was driving me nuts," She took another deep breath and her face was so hot it felt like it was on fire. "Look, Hiro, I'm sorry if this is making you uncomfortable, but I had to tell you… I'm in love with you…"

Still stunned by the bizarre revelation that she felt the same way about him that he did about her, Hiro had been thrown into a shocked silence. Go Go, taking Hiro's silence as a rejection of her, sighed and headed for the door. The embarrassment was just too much. THIS is why she acted hard and cold around some people, why she tried not to get attached.

Before she got to the door, she felt him grab her hand and pull on it slightly.

She turned round, red mostly from the awkwardness of what had just happened. Hiro was biting his lower lip and sported a sheepish smile, adorned by a pinkish red blush.

"Um, then I guess I have something to tell you," He confessed. "I… uh… I love you too."

Go Go gave a small chuckle as two tears rolled down either side of her face.

"It doesn't bother you," She sniffled. "That I'm older than you are?"

"If we both feel the same, the age gap doesn't matter." Hiro beamed, paraphrasing the words of his aunt from earlier on.

She pulled him towards her and enveloped him with her arms. Oh yeah, he could get used to this. Hearing her heartbeat, feeling her warmth, the sensation of her giving him that hug; the hug he wanted so much. She leaned her head on his and nuzzled into his messy black hair.

Eventually she let go of him and stepped back, a huge grin plastered across her face.

"Well, now that's out in the open," She said as she pinched his cheek. "I'll let you get on with your work."

Just then, Baymax walked in the door. Go Go waved at the giant marshmallow and went out into the main lab.

"Hiro?" Baymax queried. "Your neuro-transmitter levels have increased dramatically."

"Yep," Hiro agreed.

"Go Go's dopamine, oxytocin and norepinephrine levels were also increased." Baymax mentioned.

"Yep," He repeated.

"I am happy that things have worked out for you." The robot added.

"Yep," Hiro said. "Me too."

* * *

YAY! My first Hirogo fanfic! Might be my only one but this pairing is so cute I may write more. Hope you like it x


	2. That Kiss

Well, that certainly went better than expected.

Go Go couldn't believe she finally had the guts to tell Hiro the truth. Equally hard to believe was that he felt the same way about her, and that the four years of distance between them didn't bother him at all.

She hoped that the blush lingering on her face wasn't too noticeable.

As ecstatic as she was that things had worked out so well, she didn't want to advertise it just yet. Of course, the only person she told about her intended confession was Honey Lemon. The tall blonde girl was definitely trustworthy, but she did have a bad habit of talking loudly over the music in her ears instead of taking her earphones out and whispering.

"Go Go! I've been looking for you!"

_Speak of the devil… _Go Go thought to herself.

"Hey Honey," She said. "When did you get here?"

"I've been here ages," Honey squeaked, grinning like a mad woman. "I saw you sneaking into Hiro's office back there…"

Go Go looked at her with a raised eyebrow as the blush that was starting to fade suddenly deepened again. Honey gasped with delight and struggled to contain a loud squeal as she clapped her hands energetically. Embarrassed, the Korean girl put a finger to her lips and tried to shush the hyperactive girl before her.

"Tell me how it went! What am I saying? It must have gone well, you're practically glowing!" She squeaked again. "C'mon, tell me tell me!"

"Yes, it went well," Go Go admitted.

"Aww, there must be more to it than that!" Honey pouted. "I want to know EVERYTHING! What did you say? What did he say? What happened?"

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you," She replied. "Just not here, alright?"

"That's fine," Honey smiled. "Let me know when you're taking a break and we'll go for a walk!"

Honey gave one last squeal of enthusiasm and skipped merrily away. Go Go breathed a sigh of relief – just being around that girl when she was that excitable was so draining. She glanced at the office door with a grin and went back to her own work space. The armour that Hiro designed for her superhero outfit had given her a great idea for her bike.

While going over the blueprints for her new design, her thoughts began to drift elsewhere. She still couldn't believe it had been that easy, she expected some resistance or denial from him, and for a moment feared the worst when he went completely silent. Once again she found herself looking over at his door. She shook her head to try and focus her thoughts on the project at hand, but it was no good – as long as he was in such close proximity, so soon after their exchange of words, she just couldn't think. She needed to get out of here for a bit.

"Hey Honey," She shouted over.

Honey waved at her and smiled.

"I'm ready for that walk now…" She sighed.

Honey put down what she was working on and dashed over, still full of eagerness.

The two girls left the lab and headed outside to stroll around the grounds for a while. Go Go was suspiciously quiet, and Honey kept letting out little thrilled giggles.

"You're dying to find out about this aren't you?" Go Go commented.

"YES!" Honey accidentally yelled. "Sorry, I'm just so happy! I've had a feeling about you two recently, so when you told me you intended on confessing your love to him I was just so excited!"

"Really?"

"The pair of you have been acting so awkward – catching stolen looks at one another, going red when you accidentally touch; it's so adorable!," Honey beamed widely at her companion and clasped her hands. "The others might not have noticed, but I certainly did."

Go Go felt a smile creep onto her lips. She sighed happily and briefly swung her arms around. Telling Hiro how she really felt was hard at the time, especially since she didn't know how he'd react, but now she felt so light and carefree; like a weight had been lifted from her chest.

"I've never seen you like this Go Go," Honey stated.

"I've never felt like this before," Go Go replied. "Hiro does something to me."

"Oh yes…?" She nudged her friend suggestively.

"Not like that!" She yelped, blushing even redder than before.

"So… come on… tell me," Honey insisted.

"Not much to tell really," Go Go shrugged. "I went in and bared my soul expecting to get laughed at, but instead he said that he loved me."

"Aww…" She cooed.

"He was quiet at first, and I don't know what I was expecting to happen, all I know is that I had to tell him, even if he didn't want to be friends with me anymore," As she bit her lip and smiled broadly, Go Go drifted away into her thoughts for a moment. "He looked so cute; his cheeks were bright red and he had this adorable grin on his face."

"So this means you're dating now, right?"

"Uh, I hadn't thought about it really," She confessed. "I just wanted him to know that I loved him; finding out he loved me back was so unexpected, we didn't get round to discussing the specifics."

"I'm pretty sure that discovering your mutual love for each other means you're dating now," Honey theorised.

"I'll tell him that when we get back," Go Go laughed.

* * *

"Do you think Hiro's okay?" Wasabi wondered.

"He was fine when I saw him earlier." Fred replied, "Why?"

"It's been hours - he hasn't come out of there once, normally he's in and out every few minutes." Wasabi gestured to the closed office doors at the back of the lab. "Maybe we should check on him…"

"Dude, relax, he's probably just super focused on reprogramming his microbots."

"Maybe…" he mused, not entirely convinced by Fred's theory.

"Besides, Go Go already checked on him."

"What? When was that?"

"About ten minutes ago," Fred confirmed. "I think she's still in there – I haven't seen her come out yet."

Curious, Wasabi decided to see for himself if Hiro was alright. He also wanted to see if Go Go was actually helping or if she was just distracting him.

He stopped in front of the door and was about to knock, when he heard them talking quietly. He couldn't quite hear what was being said, but it sounded like a serious conversation. Even more curious now, he crouched down and put his ear against the frosted glass.

"As long as you're okay with this, Hiro," Go Go spoke gently. "I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

"Why would dating you make me uncomfortable?" He asked.

Wasabi gasped loudly and fell backwards in shock.

The sound of the broad-shouldered teenager hitting the ground drew the attention of Hiro and Go Go, who opened the door to see Wasabi sprawled on his back. He sat up and rubbed the back of his head, the pain of the fall written all over his face. Go Go cleared her throat and gave the eavesdropper a funny look.

"Whatcha doing on the floor, Wasabi?" She asked, leaning to one side with her arms crossed.

"Uh, nothing…" He awkwardly laughed.

"You wouldn't be listening in on private conversations now, would you?" She probed further.

"No, no, just wanted to tell Hiro about the awesome modifications I made to my plasma blades," He insisted. "That's all."

"So you finished giving them jagged edges?" Hiro questioned with a smile.

"Yeah," He replied. "Wanna come see?"

"Definitely!" Hiro grinned at Go Go with slightly flushed cheeks. "I'll be right back."

As Wasabi and Hiro walked away Go Go began feeling nervous. How long had he been listening? How much did he know? Would the others accept the fact that they had started dating? Well, Honey Lemon already knew everything, but was it right for them to be keeping their newfound love a secret from their other friends? Especially when they were also teammates. Go Go retreated into the office to gather her thoughts.

Hiro meanwhile had been dragged into the hallway by Wasabi.

"Hiro, is there anything you want to tell me?" He sternly asked.

"Uh, no."

"Are you sure? Because I could've sworn I heard something about you dating Go Go."

"Ah…" Hiro said as the blush on his face got brighter. "Well, you see… I kinda, maybe, sorta fell in love with her."

Wasabi's jaw dropped.

"And it turns out she kinda, maybe, sorta… loves me back," He chuckled.

For a moment, Hiro wondered if Wasabi was going to yell at him as his facial expression hadn't changed much. So when Wasabi suddenly broke out into a big smug grin and jokingly punched Hiro's arm, Hiro was relieved to say the least.

"Oh ho," He chuckled. "So it turns out the Little Man has a thing for older women."

"Not really," Hiro corrected, sporting an equally smug grin. "I have a thing for Go Go, she just happens to be older than me."

"Look if you're happy, I'm happy," Wasabi patted Hiro's shoulder. "Just behave okay? At least until you turn 16 – don't want Go Go getting arrested."

Wasabi headed back into the lab, leaving Hiro to think about the implications of what he just said. For a genius, it certainly took longer than it should have for the exact meaning of Wasabi's words to really sink in. Once they had however, he found himself completely embarrassed and extremely red-faced.

"Hiro!"

He turned round to see Honey Lemon running towards him.

"Are you okay?" She gasped. "Your nose is bleeding!"

She handed him a pack of tissues from her purse. As Hiro wiped the blood from his face, he noticed that Honey just couldn't stop smiling.

"You seem even happier than usual today," He noted, stuffing the blood-soaked tissue into his hoodie pocket.

"A little magpie told me something I've been waiting to hear." Honey giggled in a sing-song voice. "Speaking of which, where's Go Go?"

"Last time I saw her she was in the office at the back," Hiro mentioned.

Just as he went to push the lab door open, someone else got there first from the other side and Hiro got a face full of door. He soon collapsed on the ground as the person responsible for hitting him was revealed to be none other than Go Go.

"Oh no! Hiro! I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

"Ow…" He breathed.

"I heard a sound of distress," Baymax said, appearing behind Go Go. "What appears to be the trouble?"

"It's Hiro," Go Go replied kneeling next to him. "I accidentally hit him with the door."

Baymax stood over Hiro. The hyperspectral cameras in his head whirred as he scanned for injuries.

"Scan complete," He announced. "There is some minor impaired neurotransmission and indications of ruptured capillaries under the skin on his forehead – diagnosis; mild head injury."

"Will he be okay?" Honey asked.

"With an ice pack, some rest and supervision for the next 24-48 hours, he will make a full recovery," Baymax instructed.

"Hiro, Hiro, can you hear me?" Go Go clicked her fingers in front of his face. "Hiro, do you know where you are?"

No response. He was out cold.

"I will take him home," Baymax decided, picking him up with ease.

"I'll come with you," Go Go volunteered. "It's my fault he's in this state."

* * *

Hiro dazedly opened his eyes and yawned. A dull ache roared through his head and the slightly melting ice pack placed on it was dampening his hair. He couldn't remember much – he was with Honey Lemon and then suddenly… Nothing. He must have blacked out, though he couldn't recall why. As he looked around, he realised he was back in his room. Baymax was standing to the left of his bed. He glanced at the clock; it was only three in the afternoon – he couldn't have been out for more than an hour or so. He rolled over onto his right side and found himself face to face with Go Go, who was asleep next to him.

"Yahhh!" He yelled out loud, unintentionally waking her in the process.

Her eyes snapped open at the sound of his shouting and she immediately sat up.

"Hiro, you're awake." She smiled, pulling him into another embrace. "I was so worried!"

"Why, what happened?" He wondered as he instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Um, well, I might have accidentally hit you with a door." She confessed, loosening her grip on him.

"That's not a nice thing to do to your new boyfriend, is it?" Hiro glanced up at her with a cheeky grin on his face.

Go Go's face began to redden at his casual use of the word 'boyfriend'.

"It was an accident," She insisted. "I'm just glad you're okay – after a smack like that I kinda expected you to get amnesia."

"Aw, that means I could've pretended not to remember you and you'd feel so guilty that you'd look after me." He pouted.

"Amnesia or not, I _am _looking after you." She smirked knowingly.

"What?"

"People who have suffered a mild head injury require supervision for the first 24-48 hours after the injury occurred," Baymax instructed. "To keep an eye out for any new symptoms that may develop."

"And your Aunt Cass said it was okay for me to stay over," Go Go informed him.

"You don't have to really," He said nervously. "I mean, Baymax can keep an eye on me."

"I know I don't _have _to look after you, Hiro, but I _want _to," She remarked. "This whole thing is my fault."

"You really do feel guilty, don't you?" Hiro put his hand on her arm.

"Kinda…" She answered, turning away from him.

"Hey, woman up already," Hiro joked, repeating Go Go's trademark phrase.

Go Go couldn't help but smile at that. He was right – this behaviour was very unlike her. She leaned over to get the half-melted ice pack and inadvertently looked him straight in the eye. Those innocent hazel eyes which she soon became lost in. Neither of them said a word, and yet, no words needed to be said. She could feel a blush burning under her skin from being so close to him; he was barely two inches away, his breath was hot and he sported a flush of colour much like her own. His face was so warm and smooth she couldn't help but nuzzle him before placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. As she stood up and excused herself, he stared up at her in awe – his hand touching the place she had just kissed.

"I'm just gonna get some more ice," She said as she went down the stairs at the edge of his bedroom. "I'll be back in a minute."

Hiro gazed at the place where Go Go once stood before she descended the staircase. What just happened? Did he just dream that? Or did she really just kiss him? Her lips were soft and smelt like the strawberry bubble gum she frequently enjoyed. His face tingled with excitement at this new feeling.

"Your adrenaline levels are elevated, and your body temperature has increased." Baymax spoke, breaking Hiro's train of thought. "You appear to be excited by this course of events."

Hiro did not respond, too busy enjoying the strange feelings she created in him with that one, innocent kiss…

* * *

Okay so this fanfic was supposed to be a one shot, but a few reviewers expressed an interest in an update to the first chapter. So, here it is. Hopefully I have not disappointed anyone. I guess this one shot will now be an introspective look at how Hiro and Go Go handle their new relationship status.

Enjoy!


	3. That Nightmare

Her heart was beating at a phenomenal speed.

So what if it was completely out of nowhere?

She didn't regret it one bit, even though the 90 mile-an-hour pulse in her chest was trying to make her feel otherwise.

They were dating now, it was expected for them to be affectionate to one another, though he clearly wasn't expecting it himself.

As the more mature person in this relationship, she would have to take the wheel and guide him through this; a laughable idea given that she had about as much as experience as he did. Go Go had remained largely closed off to others during her earlier teenage years, it was only once she got to college that she opened up, and while Hiro was not the first male to show interest in her, he was the first one that she actually honestly loved.

"Hi Go Go," Aunt Cass called to her. "How's the patient doing?"

"He's awake and seems fine," Go Go confirmed. "I came down for some more ice."

"Thank goodness," She sighed. "If he had been unconscious much longer I'd be calling an ambulance."

The café was pretty quiet, only one or two customers were there.

"So, where's the fire?" Go Go joked. "This place was packed when we came in earlier."

"Oh, it always goes quiet about now, it's a great chance for me to get stuff done before the evening rush," Cass mentioned. "It's poetry night tonight so I'll be pretty busy."

"Do you need a hand?" She offered.

"No, no, I'll be fine," She breezed, refilling the coffee grinder. "Besides, I need you to keep an eye on Hiro for me – though if things get hectic it would be nice if I could borrow Baymax."

"Baymax?"

"Yeah, Hiro often lends him to me during the busy periods," She said. "He's such a help around the café and he's a big hit with the customers too."

As she threw away the now empty bag of coffee beans and started cleaning the counter, Cass cleared her throat and subtly glanced at Go Go.

"So, did Hiro tell you anything interesting today?" She baited.

"Uh, how do you mean?"

"Well, we had a pretty intense talk this morning," She revealed. "I just wondered if maybe he had said anything to you about it."

_Maybe… _Go Go thought as the heat in her face flared up.

Cass was Hiro's legal guardian, if anyone needed to know they had become an item, it was her. She wondered if it was her place to say though, given that Hiro hadn't had a chance to say anything due to his unconsciousness and his aunt might not approve of the age gap.

"He might have mentioned something…" She suggested.

"Something…?" Cass baited again. "Come on, you can tell me…"

_Now or never… _

"Look, it's probably not my business to tell you, you really should be hearing this from Hiro," Go Go took a deep breath. "But this morning he told me he loved me, and I love him too, so we're going out now."

She closed her eyes, half expecting to get yelled at, or worse, by the outraged older woman. But there was no outrage, no shouting, no violent contact. Go Go slowly opened her eyes to see Cass doing some kind of silent victory dance.

"Um, Cass?" She interrupted.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Cass stopped dancing and laughed. "I'm just so glad things worked out."

"So, you don't mind?" Go Go anxiously rubbed her arm.

"Why would I mind? I'm ecstatic!" Cass squeaked, walking round the counter and hugging the edgy girl tightly.

"I kinda thought you wouldn't like us being together, what with him being younger than me."

"If you both feel the same, age has nothing to do with it," She asserted.

"Heh, funny, Hiro said something like that to me this morning."

"My sister was 6 years older than Hiro's dad and they were a perfect match." Cass told her. "The age thing, it's irrelevant."

"Thanks." Go Go smiled, only just noticing the almost completely melted ice pack dripping on the floor. "Oops, sorry about the mess."

"Oh dear," She laughed, grabbing some paper towels from the counter.

"Here, let me just…" Go Go handed what was left of the ice pack to Cass and started mopping up the excess water with the paper towels.

Cass soon returned with another ice pack fresh from the freezer as Go Go wiped up the last of the water and threw the sopping paper towels in a nearby bin.

"You better head back or he'll be wondering where you've got to," Cass giggled. "I'm sure I can rely on you to be the mature one."

"Thanks," She replied.

Go Go turned to head back upstairs, but stopped to give Cass a big hug. She couldn't even begin to thank her for being so understanding about the situation, where many people would have lost their minds over it. As she let go of the brunette woman, Go Go smiled with gratitude before going back to Hiro's room.

As she ascended the stairs she could hear Baymax and Hiro talking.

"Hiro, you are suffering from a mild head injury, you should be resting." Baymax instructed.

"Okay, okay, just give me a minute." Hiro shushed.

"What's going on up here?" Go Go interrupted.

Hiro nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of her voice. He quickly switched off his computer and whirled round with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Hiro," She growled. "What are you playing at?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to check my emails," He said. "In case the university was trying to get hold of me."

"I explained everything to the Dean before we brought you home," She remarked. "You shouldn't be worrying about that, tell him Baymax."

"Those who suffer from head injuries need rest and should not return to work or school until they have recovered." He repeated.

"Thank you," She said, turning to Hiro with a stern look. "You. Bed. Now."

Hiro shuffled over to his bed and flopped on top of the covers, rolling onto his right side. He once again started blushing as he recalled when he did this earlier and found Go Go next to him. Wasabi's words rang in his head like clanging chimes. He remembered being relieved to find that they were both fully dressed, but her demanding him into bed like that certainly rattled his cage.

While he was internally struggling with what had been one hell of an emotional ride, he hadn't noticed Go Go place the ice pack on his head and drag his bean bag chair to the side of the bed. She sat by him and pulled a small sketchpad and mechanical pencil from her bag. As she turned to a half finished drawing of a dragon and continued where she left off, he began to watch every graphite line she drew.

"That's cool." He noted.

"Yeah, I guess," She replied. "It's nowhere near finished though."

"You never struck me as the drawing type." He grinned.

"Me neither," She chuckled. "But I was thinking of getting a tattoo and the designs you see in the studios are all so… standard."

"That's so awesome!" Hiro sat up, causing the ice pack to slip from his head in the process.

"I hope you it doesn't bother you, 'cause I'm getting one either way." She glanced over at him.

"Hey, it's your skin, and besides… I love you," He blushed profusely at having said it out loud again. "I just want you to be happy."

She paused for a moment and ruffled his hair with her free hand.

"I love you too… nerd." She smirked, her cheeks as red as cherries.

"Aww, you guys are so cute!" Honey squealed.

The pair of them looked up at the blonde girl who had just made herself known.

"Hey Honey," Hiro smiled. "What's up?"

"Just thought we'd come see how you are." She said.

"We?" Go Go wondered.

It turned out Honey has brought Fred and Wasabi with her. Hiro was suddenly overwhelmed by it all. His friends, his teammates, had gone out of their way to visit and make sure he was all right. He'd never had friends like these before – if at all. Being so much more intelligent than his classmates in school meant that real friends were far and few between, perhaps that was why he was so relieved to have graduated high school early, and was so reluctant to re-enter education until Tadashi showed him how much better college was.

"Thanks guys."

"I hope she hasn't been corrupting you, Hiro." Wasabi snickered.

"Oh shut up." Go Go snapped.

"I brought you some comics to read," Fred mentioned, handing over a stack of brand new comic books. "They're my pre orders that arrived this morning – not even released to the general public yet."

"Thanks Fred, these are awesome." Hiro flicked through the comic at the top of the pile.

"So, have you told Cass yet?" Honey asked innocently.

"No."

"Yes."

Hiro and Go Go looked at each other and back at their friends.

"Yes."

"No."

All three visitors laughed at the awkwardness between them.

"Come on guys," Fred chuckled in confusion. "What are we laughing at?"

It appeared that Fred was the only one who didn't know and was laughing along with everyone else because their laughter was contagious. Wasabi and Honey exchanged an awkward glance, which was then aimed at Hiro and Go Go.

"Fred, Wasabi, Honey," Hiro nervously began, interlocking his hand with Go Go's. "We're, um, dating now."

"Dudes!" Fred yelled. "That's awesome!"

He threw his arms in the air before pulling them both into a brief group hug.

"I'm so happy for you!" He beamed. "Wait, have you told your Aunt Cass yet?"

Tickled by Fred's utter cluelessness, Hiro, Go Go, Wasabi and Honey all fell about laughing. Fred looked over at Baymax, who shrugged – also unaware of what was so funny. As the hysterical giggling wound down to an occasional chuckle, Cass herself appeared at the top of the stairs.

"What's gotten you all so riled?" She wondered.

"Nothing Aunt Cass," Hiro sniggered.

"Would you mind if I borrowed Baymax? It's getting pretty busy again."

"Sure thing," Hiro got up and handed Baymax a yellow chip to put into his access port.

"Thanks Hiro," Cass smiled as she and the big white robot headed down into the café.

"He's really versatile, huh?" Honey assumed.

"Yeah," Hiro nodded. "I programmed a third chip for him so he could help Aunt Cass – he's a big draw to the café, people love seeing him."

"Well, we'll leave you now," She said. "You gotta get some rest after all."

"Let us know if you need anything from the university." Wasabi added.

"Oh no you don't," Go Go corrected, waving her pencil at him threateningly. "He's not doing any work until he's recovered."

"See ya later dudes," Fred waved. "We'll stop by again tomorrow."

"And in the meantime, behave yourselves," Wasabi laughed, wiggling his eyebrows.

Go Go stuck her tongue out at him.

With the three of them gone, and now fully aware of Hiro and Go Go's relationship status, she settled back into her drawing and he lay down again, watching her draw.

"Where are you getting it?" He questioned.

"My arm or my leg, not sure yet." She replied.

"We'll have to tell Aunt Cass."

"About my tattoo?" She wondered.

"No, about us," He said. "We can't keep it a secret from her, y'know?"

"She knows, Hiro," Go Go sighed as she stopped drawing and gave him a guilty half smile. "I told her when I went down for more ice – I wanted you to be the one to tell her but she practically dragged it out of me."

"Heh, that's Aunt Cass alright." He chuckled.

"You're not mad?" She asked quietly.

"Well, it would've been nice to tell her myself, but I knew she'd be okay with it." Hiro put his hand on her arm reassuringly.

* * *

_There were flames everywhere, engulfing everything in their path like giant snakes. _

_The desks and stools were all ablaze, the windows were cracking and the entire building was one giant fireball._

_Hiro watched helplessly as his brother heroically ran in through the front doors and a huge explosion rocked the immediate area._

_The fire was completely out of control at this point and just as Hiro decided to go in after his brother, a white Bulldog came to stop him. The spirit-like dog knocked him down and wouldn't let him get up, knocking him down again every time he tried._

"_TADASHI!"_

Hiro woke up screaming.

Not that damn nightmare again!

As he sat in his bed sobbing from the imagery in his mind, he felt a familiar warmth wrap around him.

"Shh, Hiro, it's okay," Go Go comforted, hugging him close. "I'm here."

"Dammit," He swore, still whimpering from the shock of the beastly nightmare that haunted him.

"Calm down," She cooed, rubbing his back gently. "It was just a bad dream."

Hiro's laboured breathing continued for several minutes as Go Go held him. Sporadic tears fell from his eyes as he tried to wipe them away before she could see them. He leaned into her, hoping she would not see him crying, something he considered to be a sign of weakness. She continued the soothing motions on his back while he attempted to compose himself after such an embarrassing moment.

"I'm sorry…" He wept.

"Shh, don't apologise," She pulled him as close as possible.

He started to relax into her embrace. With all his tears shed and the memories of that awful nightmare fading away, he felt himself melting in her arms. All the tenseness in his body slowly vanished and he fell back to sleep. She sat up holding him, nuzzling his hair as she had before, and deep down suspecting that he'd been having nightmares like these since Tadashi's untimely death.

Content that he was in a much more peaceful sleep than before, she pulled the bed covers over him and held his hand while he slept.

_Poor Hiro…_

When Hiro woke up the next morning, the nightmare still lingering in his mind, he noticed that Go Go was not around. He yawned and stretched, wondering where she might have gone. She seemed pretty protective yesterday, there was no way she would've left without saying anything. Even Baymax was not in his charging station.

He decided to go splash some water on his face. That nightmare… It was more than he could take sometimes, and he wondered if it would ever go away. Losing his brother was bad enough, but to keep dreaming of it over and over was too much. On top of that, Go Go had been witness to his night terrors.

As he got up and headed toward the bathroom, he couldn't help but think of how quickly she had come to comfort him and how nice it felt to be held by her during such a distressing instant, even if it meant running the risk of her seeing him at his weakest point. Those hugs of hers were like magic, he enjoyed every moment spent in them.

He opened the bathroom door.

Well, now he knew where Go Go was.

There she stood, in nothing more than a pair of shorts and a bra, drying her hair with a towel.

His face went bright red at the sight of her in so little. He had never seen so much of her before; her milky skin, her pierced belly button, her toned stomach. He literally froze on the spot, unable to take his eyes off her. Sensing she was not alone, she stopped ruffling her hair and looked over her shoulder at the red faced, wide-eyed teen behind her.

"Do you mind?" She retorted, slamming the door shut.

Hiro's knees buckled under his own weight and he fell to the floor, letting out a deep breath he didn't know he was holding. A few drops of blood hit his leg and he realised his nose was bleeding again.

_Holy crap… _He thought.

* * *

Another chapter down. Again, I hope you all like it. I'm hoping to have a special chapter done by Valentine's Day.

Enjoy!


	4. That Storm

Hiro lay sprawled on his bed, looking up at the ceiling.

He couldn't believe what he'd just seen.

Not that he minded seeing Go Go that way, but she seemed really annoyed at him.

How was he supposed to know she was in there? Why didn't she just lock the door?

_Note to self; knock first next time…_

As the bathroom door opened, Hiro jolted up and faced the wall in case she was still only half dressed. She approached him from behind and ruffled his hair.

"I'm decent now." She said.

"I'm really sorry about that, I should've knocked." He apologised.

"No, it's my fault, and I shouldn't have yelled at you either – I'm sorry," She admitted, giving him another brief hug. "I just didn't expect you to be awake yet."

"There is a lock, but I guess you didn't see it." He mentioned, turning to face her. "You must give your roommates a shock doing things like that."

"I live in the off campus student apartments, on my own, so locking the bathroom door isn't something I normally do." Go Go told him, a wicked smirk forming on her lips as she leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Besides, if you wanted to see me in nothing but my underwear, all you had to do was ask."

"WHAT?!" He squeaked.

"Oh Hiro," She laughed, kissing his cheek again. "Get changed, I'll meet you downstairs."

Go Go tucked her hands in her pockets and headed down the staircase, chuckling as she went.

Hiro wondered if she was trying to keep his face eternally red as his cheeks started burning again. Seeing her in so little was quite an eyeful; the thought of her in nothing at all was enough to give him another nosebleed. He went through the clothes in his wardrobe, while his head began whirling with all kinds of thoughts that he was not used to having.

Damn hormones, messing with him again.

It didn't take long for him to get dressed; his wardrobe largely consisted of t-shirts, cargo pants and a few hoodies, so this kind of decision making was easy. Having changed into some clean clothes, he glanced down the stairs to make sure no one was coming up and quickly went on his computer. Go Go wouldn't be happy to see him on here, but there were some things he needed to check; emails and such.

All done, he shut the computer off and made his way down to the café. Baymax was lifting some heavy boxes for his Aunt Cass.

"Morning sweetie," His aunt called out. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Kinda…" He answered.

"Having nightmares again?" She wondered, walking over to him and putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Eh, they'll go away on their own eventually..." He shrugged in an attempt to make light of it.

"Hello Hiro, how are you feeling today?" Baymax asked. "How is your head?"

"Pretty good."

"Allow me to scan you," The big robot offered. "Scan complete."

"So, how's it looking?"

"Neurotransmission is slightly less impaired, oxytocin, dopamine and norepinephrine levels have settled at their new elevated state," Baymax detailed. "A further 24 hours rest is recommended as a precaution."

"In that case you should stay here," Go Go said.

"Why, where are you going?" Hiro queried.

"To get some stuff from home," She began, looking over at Cass. "If it's still okay for me to stay over again."

"Of course," Cass smiled back.

"Thanks." She nodded. "Baymax, make sure he actually rests and doesn't do anything stressful."

"Don't you trust me?" Hiro wondered, pulling the saddest puppy dog face possible.

"Of course I trust you," Go Go smiled at him sweetly. "It's that big brain of yours I don't trust; you need to chill – no strenuous thinking and no running off, okay?"

"Okay." He agreed.

"Promise you'll stay here?" She baited.

"Promise."

"I won't be long, an hour at the most." She insisted as she walked out the café doors.

* * *

"I won't be long," Hiro said in a mocking tone. "An hour at the most – she's been gone forever!"

"It's only been a few hours Hiro," Aunt Cass chastised. "She probably just got side-tracked."

"I hope she's at least somewhere dry, I mean, look how bad it is outside."

Hiro had a point. What had started as a lovely sunny day quickly turned into an awful winter afternoon – the sky was dark, the rain was coming down fast and heavy, and thunder could be heard rolling in the distance.

He checked his phone for what must have been the tenth time in five minutes. He had sent her a message and left a voicemail when he had called and she hadn't answered; he didn't want to panic her by leaving a ton of missed calls on her cellphone, but he was panicking himself because he didn't know where she was.

_One more time… _He thought as he dialled her number… and once again it went straight to voicemail.

Silently, he zipped up his hoodie and went out the door, followed by Baymax who was still under Go Go's instructions to make sure Hiro stayed relaxed.

Hiro, unsure where she could be, opted to just check the places Go Go usually went. Baymax attempted to remind him of his promise to stay put, but such words fell on deaf ears as Hiro made his way to the student apartments, hoping to find someone who had seen her. The wind was harsh and the fierce rain hit him like small daggers.

Having had no luck there, he continued running with Baymax in tow, attempting to keep up with the headstrong teenager. He tried the bike shop, no sign of her. Then the hardware store; not there either. She wasn't even at the sweet emporium where she got her stash of bubblegum every week. He was running out of ideas, and energy too.

He stopped to catch his breath and started feeling dizzy.

"Hiro, you should not be out here," Baymax warned. "I will take you home."

Hiro pulled out his cell phone and tried once more to get hold of Go Go. He was relieved when the phone actually started ringing instead of cutting to voicemail as it had done previously.

"Hello? Hiro, where are you?" Her voice was wracked with worry.

"Go Go, finally!" He sighed with relief.

"Hiro, I told you to stay at the café!" She scolded. "Where are you?!"

"I'm… uh… by the, uh…" He glanced at his surroundings, his head spinning wildly. "I'm not sure…"

"Put Baymax on the phone," She asked.

He handed the cell to his robot companion.

"Hello, Baymax? Do you know where you are?"

"We are at the corner of Komaki and 23rd street." He replied.

"Take the first left and follow Okazaki Street back to the café, I'll meet you halfway." She said as she hung up.

"We should head back, Go Go is on her way to meet us." He said to Hiro.

"Great, let's go then," He panted and put his hand on his head. It was throbbing pretty badly – maybe running out into the rain wasn't such a good idea in hindsight.

Without a second thought, Baymax picked him up and began the walk back.

"Put me down, Baymax, I'm fine," He asserted.

"You are experiencing decreased blood flow to the brain, and your body temperature is low."

He pulled the hood over Hiro's head to shelter him as they walked down the hill towards the Lucky Cat café. A figure appeared in the distance, running toward them. Only as they got closer did he realise that it was Go Go.

"Hiro!" She cried out.

"Hey…" He grinned.

"You jerk!" She berated him, pin prick tears lurking in the corner of her eyes. "What were you thinking?"

"Not much apparently," He joked.

Completely unenthused by his attempt to try and lighten the mood, Go Go walked back with them. They went in through the side entrance as opposed to going through the café, and once safely back upstairs, Baymax sat Hiro down at the end of the bed.

"Baymax, get me some painkillers, would you?" Go Go asked.

The marshmallow-like robot headed to the medicine cabinet to retrieve some headache tablets.

"Hiro, you're soaked!" She tutted disapprovingly, throwing a towel at him.

He pulled off his drenched hoodie and t-shirt, and wrapped the towel around his shoulders. Go Go meanwhile sat behind him with another towel and started drying his hair. He was still a little dizzy, but he was enjoying the attention she paid to him.

"What on earth were you doing?" She barked. "You could've gotten sick!"

"You were gone for ages, I didn't know where you were." He declared.

"You _promised_, Hiro." She sighed.

"_You_ said you wouldn't be long." He retorted.

"I wasn't going to be; I got back to the apartment to feed my iguana and grab a change of clothes," She told him. "But one of the bulbs in her vivarium had blown, so I went to the mall to get a new one; I tried to call you but I couldn't get a signal because of the bad weather."

"Anything could have happened to you." He stated. "I was worried."

An awkward silence passed between them.

"I'm sorry, Hiro."

"Me too." He turned round and hugged her tightly.

Go Go was surprised by his sudden movement, but swiftly warmed up to it. His skin was still clammy, and his face was hot. She certainly was impressed by his determination to find her, but she also felt guilty for being the cause of his stress and concern. She leaned her head in the crook of his neck and took a moment to listen to his heartbeat, no doubt it was much calmer now than it was when he first panicked and ran out into the storm to find her.

"I love you Hiro," She mumbled, holding him close. "Please don't scare me like that again."

"I won't." He assured her.

* * *

Later that night, with Hiro now dry and the pair of them settled into some comfy clothes, they sat with Cass and Mochi to watch a scary movie. Hiro had gotten one hell of a talking to from his Aunt Cass after he darted out into the rain without telling her where he was going. The only reason he hadn't been grounded was because of his noble intentions and that he came home safe not long after.

The dizziness had long since faded, and he was enjoying a nice relaxing night at home. He also enjoyed his current place, lying with his head resting on Go Go's lap. She ran her fingers through his hair softly, watching the horror story unfold – she'd seen this film before, so it wasn't as scary as the first time she'd seen it.

Cass, on the other hand, was constantly flipping between awestruck staring and hiding behind Mochi at the scarier parts of the film. As a big angry lizard monster appeared on screen, Hiro was struck by something he meant to ask earlier on.

"How long have you had an iguana?" Hiro whispered to Go Go.

"You mean Imugi? I've had her for a few years now," She whispered back. "I wanted a green iguana but my parents told me to do some research and I learned that they tend to have quite an attitude."

"Sounds like your kind of pet." He chuckled.

"Ha ha," She said, poking him in the shoulder. "I ended up getting a rock iguana, they're not as skittish as the green type, and they look way cooler; Imugi has these wicked spikes on her jawline."

"You said one of the bulbs had blown in her tank, was she okay?"

"Yeah, she was fine – there's two more UV lights in there for her but I prefer her to have three." She responded. "Most lizards need more than one UV light in their vivarium so they don't burn themselves."

"And here I thought you only knew about speed and electro-magnetics." He smirked.

She rolled her eyes and poked him again.

"So how do you feel?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Very comfortable, thanks." He beamed, cuddling up to her.

A wonderful feeling spread through Go Go's mind and body as she watched him snuggle closer to her. The beautiful warmth that often swept over her whenever she looked at his lovable face, when she first realised that what she felt for him was real. She wrapped her arms around him and gave a gentle squeeze, giggling as she did so.

"You are just too cute, you know that?" She quietly squeaked.

"Shh, don't go telling everybody," He laughed. "Superheroes aren't supposed to be cute."

"Baymax is technically a superhero, and everyone thinks he's cute, even when he's decked out in armour." Go Go corrected. "Like it or not, you're cute."

Hiro smiled at her with that wide endearing smile that made her feel all tingly. She positively adored that smile, the one that showed the sweet little gap in his teeth. He was just so adorable she wanted to hug him forever and never let go. She was just so happy, so contented, that it was very tempting to fall asleep like this…

* * *

"Scan complete," Baymax announced. "Your neurotransmission levels are no longer impaired, and appear to be elevated."

"How do you feel in yourself?" Go Go questioned.

"Great!" Hiro grinned.

"I guess this means you're well enough to come to the arcades with us," Honey Lemon commented.

"Yes!" He jumped up happily.

Honey and Go Go watched him run excitedly up the stairs to grab his bag.

"So, what happened yesterday?" Honey asked.

"It's a long story," She sighed. "I only left him for a few hours and he freaked out because I took longer than expected to come back; then he ran out into that storm because he was worried about me."

"Aww!" Honey Lemon squealed.

"I'm glad he's better though," She confided. "The head injury was bad enough, but if he got sick because of me as well, I don't know what I'd do."

"Well, now that he's better you can start going on dates and just have fun together."

"Provided I don't hit him with another door," Go Go casually joked.

"Oh, don't be silly," Honey playfully shoved Go Go.

"Are the guys meeting us at the amusement centre?" She wondered.

"Yeah, I told them to wait for us there," Honey replied. "How did Cass take it?"

"Extremely well – I doubt she'd have let me stay over if it was a problem."

"True." She nodded in agreement.

"Oh hi Honey Lemon, how are you?" Cass cheerfully asked.

"Fine thank you, we're going to the arcades now that Hiro is feeling better."

"Sounds like fun," She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a photo. "Go Go, this is for you."

As she accepted the photo and glanced over it, she briefly turned bright pink. It appeared that Cass not only approved of their relationship, she seemed to want to document it also; in the picture was the image of the young couple asleep on the couch, huddled together in their pyjamas. Honey found herself once again cooing at the cuteness that was her two college friends.

"I'm sorry, but you were both so cute I had to take a quick snapshot." Cass apologised, putting her arm around the young girl's shoulder.

Go Go's embarrassment was quickly replaced with gratitude. She looked over the photo with a dreamy expression, sighing as she remembered how nice it felt to actually be there.

"Thanks." She said softly.

At that point, Hiro came leaping down the stairs. Go Go put the photo in her pocket and grabbed him by the hand as soon as he was standing still enough for her to do so.

"Hey, I know you're feeling better but chill, okay?" She insisted, grinning at him sweetly. "Save your energy for the arcade games."

* * *

Hey guys. Hope you like it so far. The next one chapter will come out on Valentine's Day and will be cute – I don't know exactly how cute but expect to get a toothache from reading it lol.

Enjoy!

PS. I apologise if the characters are a little OOC at times, I am basing some things on my own experience – the nightmares for instance are a reflection of the bad dreams I still have from a traumatic event I went through at Hiro's age. Even now I wake up screaming sometimes, but nowhere near as much as I did when I first survived the trauma.


	5. That Date

Hiro loved going to the arcade.

The games were so cool, and the coin pushers were fun, but what he enjoyed most were the claw machines.

At night he was bot fighting, but during the day, going on those skill cranes was his favourite thing to do.

This was of course before the student showcase, before the incident at the university, before he lost Tadashi.

Still, he had been playing on those machines for so long that he hoped he hadn't lost his touch in the few weeks he hadn't been on them.

"This is gonna be so much fun!" Honey giggled.

"I haven't been to the arcade in ages." Go Go said.

"Yeah, it's been a few weeks." Hiro agreed.

"Weeks?" She laughed out loud. "Months is more like it."

"I guess I had more time on my hands than you guys."

"I looked online, the arcade has had some new game cabinets put in," Honey mentioned. "Fred has been dying to play them."

"About this time last year we went on a day out to the amusements and Fred and Wasabi started a competition to see who got the highest score on all the games they played." Go Go told Hiro. "So if they seem a bit hyper to you, you'll know why."

"I'm more of a claw person," Hiro said. "I like the games, but it's the crane machines that get me hyped."

"Yeah, well I never seem to do all that well on those," She admitted.

"Maybe I can teach you a few tricks," He offered.

"I'd like that."

San Fransokyo had a number of arcades, all over the city, but the one they were going to was a short trolley ride away. It wasn't one that Hiro frequented very often, given that there were a number of them within walking distance of the Lucky Cat Café, and he tended to keep all his change for the machines and the big bucks for the pay-to-play back alley bot fights.

Playing on those claw machines gave him a challenge that bot fighting didn't. Those machines couldn't be reprogrammed, not without someone noticing – there were cameras everywhere after all. So he was at a disadvantage; one he was determined to overcome. He rarely kept the plushies he won, he usually gave them away while he was still in the arcade. It was the challenge that kept him coming back.

He was looking forward to spending time with his friends away from college and home. To be honest, he was also anticipating being able to show Go Go his skills with something besides robotics.

"We're here!" Honey cheered as the three of them stood up and exited the trolley.

"Woah," Hiro gasped. "They've done some major remodelling since I was here last."

"No kidding," Go Go agreed. "Jeez, no wonder they got new game cabinets, the place is like twice the size it used to be!"

As they observed the giant, multi-coloured building and its flashing neon lights, they noticed Fred waving at them frantically.

"What took you so long?" He said. "We've been waiting forever!"

"Calm down," Wasabi scolded. "We've only been here half an hour."

"Ugh, guy! New games!" Fred gestured excitedly toward the entrance doors.

"He's just dying to get in there so he can try to beat my high score from last time," Wasabi grinned. "_Try _being the operative word."

"Looks like I'll be refereeing again," Honey Lemon sighed as the two guys ran inside. "At least you have someone to do other stuff with this time, Go Go."

"Come on then, crane master," She playfully punched Hiro in the arm. "You gonna show me these tricks or what?"

"Okay," He smiled.

* * *

"No, don't go after that one, it's wedged in." Hiro corrected.

"I told you I've never been good at these games."

"Look, always go for the loose ones at the top." He reminded, pointing at the pile of dog plushies inside the machine. "Try going for that one there."

Go Go pressed the buttons on the console, hoping to get the white dog Hiro was pointing at… only for it to slip through the grabber's claws.

"You were so close there," He said. "You're probably not at the pay-out rate yet."

"Okay, smart guy, let's see _you _have a go." She stepped away from the console with her hands up.

Hiro placed a few coins into the machine and breathed deeply; in and out. After a few seconds of visually studying the layout of the plushies, he timed his button pressing to a moment's difference. As if by magic, the grabber latched onto the white dog and pulled it over to the plastic drop tunnel where it soon fell in.

"No way!"

"If it's on two legs and standing up, don't go for it – there's too much weight – if it's on four legs and standing up you can get the claws around the midsection." Hiro demonstrated with his hands.

Go Go was suitably impressed by his attention to detail. He pulled the white dog from the cat flap at the base of the machine and handed it to her.

"No, you won it Hiro," She insisted, pushing it back towards him.

"You're the one who's spent the last ten minutes trying to get it," He mentioned. "It's a stolen win if I keep it."

"Stolen win?"

"Yeah, some people wait around for current players to wander off for more change, then swoop in and get a prize themselves after working out the pay-out rate," Hiro described. "It's called a stolen win."

"You know way too much about this stuff," She chuckled.

"Well, when you have too much time to yourself, you learn weird stuff like this." He shrugged, once again handing the white dog to her.

This time she accepted it, inwardly melting as he pulled that wide beaming smile again. She held it under her arm and smiled back at him with slightly pink cheeks. He glanced around and saw another machine, full of yellow Minion plushies. His face lit up, he grabbed Go Go's hand and led her to that machine next.

"These ones are easy," He said. "They're evenly weighted because of their size and shape – you can do this."

"You think so?"

"I _know _so."

Go Go inserted some coins and stood with her hands hovering over the buttons.

"Just remember, go for a loose one that's close to the drop tunnel." Hiro instructed.

Though not convinced she'd be able to do it, she just couldn't resist that sweet face of his as he looked up at her with complete confidence that she _could_ do it. She took his lead, inhaled and exhaled deeply and tried to time the buttons as he had previously. She really couldn't believe her eyes as the grabber claws wrapped around the body of the top plush and picked it up. For a moment she thought the plush was going to drop before reaching the tunnel, but it didn't; it sailed across the inside of the glass case and dropped on cue.

"Ha ha! Yes!" She squealed.

"Told ya you could do it." He boasted.

"Thank you Hiro," She pulled him into a victory hug, squeezing him as she had the night before.

"Hey, you pressed the buttons, not me." He chuckled.

She retrieved her prize and immediately handed it to Hiro.

"Now we're even." She said with a smile.

* * *

Fred had been dubbed the victor this time around, having beaten Wasabi's total high score by only 5 points. Wasabi was totally bummed, but cheered up a little when Fred offered to buy pizza for everyone while they were there. Unlike most arcades, the pizza here was actually really good. It was part of the reason why they always seemed to come back to this one in particular.

"We should totally do this more often." Fred smiled before taking a big bite of his pizza slice.

"Yeah," Honey agreed, patting him on the shoulder.

"So what did _you _two get up to while we were locked in gaming battle?" Wasabi wondered.

"Claw machines." Go Go replied, placing her white dog on the table.

"Aw, did Hiro win that for you?" Honey asked cutely.

"Technically she won it herself, I was just instructing." Hiro insisted.

"Turns out he's an expert on those things." Go Go said.

"Well, I wouldn't say expert…" Hiro rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I guess I just spent a lot of time on them before I met you guys."

As the others carried on chatting among themselves, Hiro found himself sinking into his thoughts again. He wondered if Tadashi was with them the last time they came here. Truth be told, he kind of felt honoured that they brought him to this place, it clearly was a thing they did as a group, and by inviting him he felt like he had truly been accepted.

Acceptance.

Hiro smiled to himself as he reflected on the word and what it meant to him to be accepted. He was soon disturbed from his train of thought by a hand shaking his arm. He looked up at the person shaking him.

"You okay?" Go Go asked.

"I'm fine," He assured her.

"Come on, Fred's gonna give us a ride home."

"Jeez, how long was I out?" Hiro joked.

They exited the arcade and saw a long black limo pull up, driven by Fred's British butler. Heathcliff was only too happy to give Fred's friends a lift home – not that they'd know from his constantly stoic expression – it was nice to see that the young master he served had real friends that he could hang out with.

Go Go had been greatly inspired by Hiro's advice and encouragement, having won quite a few plushies by the end of the day, but having left the arcade with only the white dog Hiro had won for her. He insisted it was hers though, no matter how many times she thanked him. She had no idea that these was so much to those machines – she simply saw them as impossible to win at.

Honey Lemon was dropped off first, as she lived closest to the arcade. Hiro wondered why she went out of her way to meet him and Go Go at the Lucky Cat Café when she was pretty close to where they were spending the day. Wasabi was next, though not without making some kind of comment about 'behaving themselves' followed by a sly wink.

Soon, they were outside the student apartments where Go Go lived.

"Do you mind if I get out here too?" Hiro asked.

"If you want." Go Go shrugged, clutching the white dog to her chest.

"See you later Fred, thanks for the ride." He waved goodbye to the older teen and got out after her.

"No problem guys," Fred replied, waving back. "See you back at college tomorrow right?"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." Hiro replied.

The black limo drove off into the distance and the two stood on the sidewalk, with Go Go grinning widely at Hiro.

"So, do you wanna meet Imugi?" She wondered.

"Yeah!" He answered excitedly, calming himself down almost immediately after. "I mean, if you don't mind."

Go Go lived in the first floor apartment in the second building. She unlocked the door and switched on the light, delicately placing her white dog plush on the side table. She took off her shoes and so did he, following her into the living room. Alongside the leather couch, flat screen TV on the wall and games console beside it, he was met by the sight of what could only be described as a large, glass fronted closet. Inside said 'closet' was a dark coloured lizard, about 6 ft long with small spikes along the side of its face and down its back.

"Imugi," Go Go sang in a tone most unlike her usual way of speaking. "Big sister is home, and there's someone here who wants to meet you."

She unlocked the glass case and leaned in to pick up her iguana. Cradling the lizard's chest with one hand, and supporting the tail end with her other hand, she lifted her pet from its arboreal perch and held her close to the chest.

"This is Imugi," Go Go stroked her pet calmly. "Imugi, this is my boyfriend Hiro."

"Wow," Hiro blushed at being called her boyfriend, despite having used the term himself the day before last. "She's so awesome."

"You can pet her if you want, she's totally tame."

Hiro reached out to touch the reptile, and was surprised at how passive she seemed. He started to feel the spikes on her face when she decided to climb onto his arm and rest on his shoulder.

"Woah!"

"She's not normally this overly friendly with strangers." Go Go crossed her arms. "I think she approves of you."

"She's amazing," He admired. "No wonder you wanted one as a pet."

"You're such a good girl, aren't you?" She cooed, taking the iguana from Hiro's shoulder and placing her on her own one. "She's pretty easy to care for too, once you know the basics and understand what they need."

"You must've saved up for ages to get her." He stated innocently.

"Set up was pretty expensive; the vivarium was a few hundred and she herself was almost a grand," Go Go answered. "But day to day she's a pretty affordable pet to have."

"What kinda stuff does she eat?"

"She's a total vegetarian, greens mostly and fruit as a treat, and she can be fussy with her food sometimes – I'll put it in a bowl and she'll knock the bowl over and eat off the floor."

"Have you tried just putting it on the floor?"

"Yeah, but she wasn't having any of it," She chuckled. "I have to put the food in the bowl for her to knock over, otherwise she won't eat it."

Hiro couldn't help but laugh at that. It was as if Imugi had taken her stubbornness from Go Go herself. Once again he found himself floating away, this time all he could think was how hot she looked, standing so confidently with a spiked lizard on her shoulder like a modern day dragon master.

"Do you want a drink or anything?" She asked him.

"I'm fine thanks."

"Today was a blast," She announced, taking Imugi from her shoulder and placing her on the floor before sitting on the couch.

"Yeah, going to the arcade is way more fun when you go with friends," Hiro added.

Go Go held out her hand and smiled at him tenderly.

"Come here." She insisted.

Hiro approached her and took her hand in his, and she pulled him onto the couch with her. She hugged him close and sighed. Not sure what came over her, Hiro decided to just go with it and enjoy the closeness between them.

"Do you ever get lonely, living on your own?" He asked.

Go Go paused before answering.

"Sometimes…"

"Maybe I should come over more often." He said.

"I'd like that."

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Hiro and he pulled away slightly to look Go Go in the eye.

"Does this mean we had our first date today?"

"Well, we spent most of the day just the two of us," Go Go mentioned. "And you came back to my place afterward, so yeah, I think we did."

Hiro got his cellphone out of his pocket and smiled at her softly.

"Can I get a photo with you?"

Go Go raised an eyebrow at him with an amused grin on her face.

"We're going out now Hiro, I should think you wouldn't have to ask."

She put her arm around his neck and posed for selfie with him. He held up his phone in camera mode and took a snapshot of the two of them. He pressed a few buttons and looked at the photo he had just taken, showing it to her also.

"I like it," She beamed.

"Me too," He agreed.

As he glanced at her, he realised how close he actually was to her. She still had her arm around his neck, so there was barely a breath distance between them. He briefly bit his lip, watching her half-lidded eyes taking in every detail of his rapidly blushing face. She too was turning a certain shade of red; she had been in this position before, and had restrained herself to kissing his cheek. This time there was no such restraint.

Go Go leaned in and placed her lips over his, enjoying the taste of him even more as she felt him kiss her back. The heated pressure of the passionate contact was like a dream, hot and heavy but sweet and loving all at once. For a moment, it was like lightning passed through her whole body. She was absolutely loving this, so there was a rush of disappointment when she had to pull away to breathe.

Hiro was also low on air, his breathing was heavy and his face was flush with happiness. Go Go licked her lower lip, attempting to re-experience his touch on her.

"Wow…" She breathed.

* * *

Behold, my Valentine's Day chapter! Hope you like it! Also, sorry to cut off there but the chapter was getting a bit long.

I'm a bit of a crane player myself and have learned a lot from a friend of mine who knows those machines so well she could write a dissertation on them – the tips I've referenced here are tips she gave me, so feel free to try them out next time you have a pocket full of change and find a claw machine!

And yes, that is how you hold an iguana.

Enjoy!


	6. That Nuisance

She took the words right out of his mouth.

Literally.

That kiss had left him speechless.

Her lips were soft and warm and tasted distinctly of cherries. Such an amazing tingly feeling ripped through him that he'd never felt before and he started feeling light headed. His heart was about ready to burst out of his chest. He almost couldn't believe that it actually happened, if not for the fact that she lingered close to him, almost threatening to do it again.

No, not a threat, more like a promise.

A promise he intended on making her keep.

Acutely aware of just how close she still was, he looked into her eyes, half asking permission and half telling her that this was what he wanted.

He leaned into her, tasting the sweetness of her lips once more. It was a swift, almost wistful kiss that didn't last half as long as he wanted it to. But he didn't want to make her uncomfortable with his sudden forward behaviour. Judging by the smile on her face, she seemed to have enjoyed his assertiveness.

"Thanks," she purred, internally grateful that the risk she took paid off the way it did.

"For what?" He softly chuckled.

"Everything." She pulled him into another of those warm, loving hugs that he was fast becoming accustomed to.

Their affectionate embrace was soon interrupted by Hiro's cell phone beeping. He pulled the device out of his pocket to find a missed call from his Aunt Cass. Noticing that it was half an hour passed his curfew, he sighed and looked up at Go Go sadly.

"I'm really sorry, but I have to go," He told her.

"It's okay," She smiled. "I totally get it."

As they stood up, Go Go reached down to grab Imugi from her place on the floor. She walked over to the door with Hiro, holding the reptile close so she wouldn't escape when the door was opened. He put his sneakers back on and turned to smile at her with that big, soul-melting grin that softened her heart like warm chocolate.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked.

"Yeah," She replied briefly taking his hand in hers and squeezing it gently. "Message me when you get home, so I know you got back safe."

"I will." He promised, opening the apartment door.

"Love you," Go Go said out loud.

"Love you too." He blushed as he closed the door behind him.

Hard as he tried to act cool and walk away calmly, he was just too happy to control himself. He pumped his fist in the air and once around the corner, ran all the way back home, his heart pumping 100 miles an hour. He was floating on air, his mind happily drifting on cloud nine as adrenaline filled his body.

He was so overjoyed that as he ran downhill towards the café, he slipped and fell on his backside. Not caring at all, he jumped back up and entered the front of the Lucky Cat with the biggest smile he ever pulled lingering on his face.

"What time do you call this?" Aunt Cass scolded.

"Sorry, I lost track of time," He beamed.

"So…" She began. "How's your girlfriend?"

"She's amazing," He sighed contentedly, suddenly remembering his promise to text her.

"Well, I'm glad you had fun today," Cass grinned. "Now go upstairs and get ready for dinner."

"Okay!" Hiro smiled, running up the stairs as he sent a message to Go Go.

Baymax was in his charging station, watching as the teenage boy practically leapt up the stairs and danced around his room. He spun round and fell back onto his bed, still overflowing with jubilant energy.

"Hello Hiro," Baymax said. "Your neurotransmitter levels are elevated beyond any previous readings; this indicates that you are very happy."

"Oh Baymax," Hiro laughed. "I'm positively ecstatic!"

* * *

Hiro, elated by the previous day's events, practically floated to college. He was so happy it was unreal and he didn't care who knew it. So excited to see Go Go again, he had barely touched his breakfast and left early specifically to meet her before class. Apparently, the feeling was mutual – she was leaning against the wall of the entrance to the university, occasionally checking the time on her phone. She looked up from the screen and saw him running towards her.

"Hiro!" She waved.

"Go Go!" He yelled, happily throwing his arms around her.

"It's nice to see you too," She smiled and hugged him back. "Did you sleep okay?"

"No nightmares, if that's what you mean," He assured her, recalling the silence of last night's dreamless sleep.

"That's what I like to hear," She ruffled his hair playfully.

Parting from their embrace, the two entered the main grounds and chatted among themselves about what their plans were for the coming day of project work. Walking past the science building, Go Go heard a distinct and unfortunately familiar snicker. She stopped and turned around to see a fellow student, smirking at her amusedly as her two companions chuckled.

"Oh, it's _you_,"Go Go said with a heavy, exasperated sigh. "What do you want now, Kendra?"

"If I had known you were a cougar, Go Go, I'd have introduced you to my little brother." Kendra sneered and flipped her hair as her two 'yes women' began giggling on cue.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but Hiro and I are both college students and we can date if we want to." She remarked, ignoring the girl's ridiculous insinuation and putting her arm around his shoulder. "Maybe if you actually had a point for once, I might take you seriously."

"Uh! I totally have a point!" Kendra pouted. "My point is that he's, like, so much younger than you!"

"Really? That's all you got? Four years is nothing you nitwit – need I remind you that Hiro got into this university by inventing a cybernetic hive of microbots controlled by thought," Go Go pointed out. "Unlike _your_ boyfriend who was only accepted because he can throw a ball and shout 'hike'."

"Ugh, please!" Kendra rolled her eyes. "Darrell and I broke up last week, don't you know anything?"

"I know jealousy when I see it." She retorted. "C'mon Hiro, let's leave this pathetic idiot to the sad little high school world she's stuck in."

Moving her arm so she could take his hand in hers, Go Go led him away towards the robotics lab. Hiro looked over his shoulder to see Kendra having what could only be described as a temper tantrum and struggled to hold back a satisfied laugh. He glanced up at Go Go, who smiled widely, thoroughly content at having finally cut that obnoxious brat down to size.

"I take it she had that coming?" He asked innocently.

"That piece of fluff has been a thorn in my side since she got here," Go Go admitted. "She must've been a big fish in high school because she walks around like she owns the place."

"What's she studying?"

"Damned if I know – I still can't figure out how she got into this college, though I suspect it has something to do with her Daddy paying for the library renovations." She hinted.

Hiro was not surprised that there were people like Kendra in this more mature educational setting; people like her existed everywhere. She was clearly spoiled and had a bad attitude towards anyone she thought was 'below' her because she came from a rich family – nothing at all like Fred. He assumed she was trying to maintain her high school status in this new, larger location because of her own insecurities. That's how bullies work after all.

Once again, he recalled his own high school experience. He had been skipped ahead of several years in middle school and was therefore much younger than most of his high school classmates. Even in his freshman year, he was acutely aware of the 'Kendra'-type students that saw fit to make his life very difficult. He knew what it was like to be picked out as a target because he was different.

Hiro looked at Go Go's proud smile and wished he had her confidence back when he needed it. He may not have had the self-assurance to deal with bullies, but he did have Tadashi. While not one to start a fight, Tadashi was known to act if absolutely necessary and would not tolerate physical violence against his only brother. He was also an eternal optimist; he encouraged Hiro to ignore them the best he could and use their negativity as motivation to work hard and graduate high school early, as he had with middle school.

"You okay there?" Go Go interrupted his thoughts. "You've gone really quiet."

"I was just thinking about that new horror movie that came out a few days ago," He started. "Did you wanna go see it with me?"

"You mean like, on a date?" She asked.

"Um, yeah," He blushed. "You know, a proper date, just the two of us."

"Sounds good to me." She replied with a smile.

* * *

It was just after 2pm in the Lucky Cat Café, and the lunchtime rush was slowly filtering down. Hiro, Fred and Wasabi sat at a window table, enjoying their drinks and waiting for Honey and Go Go to arrive. The two older boys were drinking coffee, Hiro on the other hand was sticking to soda for the time being; partly because he loved melon soda and also because his Aunt Cass said he was too young to drink coffee.

"C'mon, let me try some," Hiro insisted, nudging Wasabi with his elbow.

"No way, little man, I'm not getting on the wrong side of Cass for giving you contraband." He rejected.

"How is it that I'm old enough to have a girlfriend but I'm too young for coffee?" Hiro pouted.

"Maybe because a girlfriend isn't going to make you hyper the way coffee will." Go Go said as she suddenly appeared behind him and hugged him tightly.

Startled, he soon warmed to the surprise contact and looked up at her with pink cheeks. Oh how he loved feeling her body so close to his, it was like the ultimate cure-all, a wonderful sensation that made him melt into her.

"Hey," He smiled.

"You two are just adorable!" Honey squealed.

"We'll be back in a sec," Go Go said as she let go of him. "Just getting something to drink."

As the two girls walked over the small queue at the counter, Hiro sighed and crossed his arms, a huge smile still on his face.

"So, she's officially your girlfriend now?" Wasabi grinned.

"Yep." Hiro beamed proudly.

"That's awesome!" Fred exclaimed. "So when's your official first date?"

"Tomorrow," He answered. "We're going to see that new horror flick."

"Ugh, I hate those movies," Wasabi shuddered. "They're just so gory I can't stand it."

"Well, this one is supposed to be more of a head trip than a gore-fest," Hiro corrected. "But I guess we'll find out when we see it."

"And how are you supposed to get into an R-rated movie?" Wasabi pointed out.

"I'll just flash my college student ID – it's worked before." Hiro smirked.

"It's a good thing your Aunt Cass is busy serving customers," He reminded. "You'd be in so much trouble if she found out about that."

"Are you nervous?" Fred wondered, interrupting Wasabi's attempt to scold him.

"A little," Hiro admitted sheepishly. "I've never been on a real date before."

"Hey, just relax and be yourself," Wasabi assured him. "Don't go freaking out about what you should or shouldn't do – I made that mistake with my first girlfriend and the whole thing was just one giant travesty."

"It had crossed my mind to find out what I'm supposed to do."

"That's simple," Fred leaned back in his chair and crossed him arms confidently. "Have fun – that's all there is to it."

"Don't do what I did and look it up online," Wasabi shook his head as he recalled the mish-mash of conflicting information that came from a quick search on Google. "Oh jeez, so many different opinions, so much insanity."

"Thanks for the heads up." Hiro chuckled.

"And what are you guys talking about that's so interesting?" Honey Lemon asked as she and Go Go returned to the table.

"Is Wasabi telling you about his first date with Rochelle?" Go Go laughed.

"No way – I'm not reliving that disaster for anyone except my therapist." He denied.

"Was it really that bad?" Hiro wondered.

"Can we please change the subject?" Wasabi sternly requested.

"Hey Go Go, I heard you had a run in with Kendra." Honey mentioned. "She was trudging around like a dark cloud all day."

"Brainless piece of fluff…" She snorted angrily.

"Go Go was awesome! You should have seen the way she shot her down!" Hiro said excitedly. "That girl was totally owned, I've never seen anything like it!"

Listening to Hiro praise her like that caused a blush to pink her face. She was only doing what came naturally to her, but to him it was something amazing. While sipping her drink, she watched him tell the others the whole story of what happened with Kendra. He was very animated in doing so, mimicking the other girl's cocky movements, including that hair flipping thing that always drove her nuts. Fred and Wasabi were highly amused by Hiro's overt motions, while Honey Lemon chuckled and glanced at Go Go with a very impressed expression.

"…And then when I looked over my shoulder at her, she was pouting and stomping her feet like a little kid," Hiro laughed. "It was hilarious!"

"It was nothing really." Go Go insisted, shrugging nonchalantly.

"To you maybe," Hiro began, placing his hand on hers. "But to me, the way you stood up to her was the coolest thing ever."

He smiled at her warmly and she smiled back, ruffling his hair with her free hand. Secretly, she loved doing that – his hair was so soft to the touch, like black velvet. Equally, he loved any contact she was willing to give him. Hugs, kisses, hair tousles – he joyfully accepted them.

"So, did you ever finish making your plasma blades jagged?" Honey asked Wasabi.

"Oh yeah, I had a quick practice session with them and they do so much more damage now." Wasabi grinned.

"You'll have to show us when we get back to college." Hiro insisted.

"Speaking of which," Go Go said, having looked at her watch. "We better head back."

As they finished their drinks and thanked Cass for her hospitality, Go Go found herself reaching out to grab Hiro's hand again. It felt so natural to her to hold his hand; he made her so comfortable with public displays of affection – something she previously found a little embarrassing. It had not gone unnoticed to Hiro that she had suddenly become okay with being affectionate no matter where they were. Frankly, he loved every second of it.

* * *

**I am so sorry this update took so long, but the husband and I are getting ready for our upcoming trip to Japan, so on top of work and other commitments, we've been prepping for this once in a lifetime trip.**

**I also apologise for this chapter being a little shorter than usual. I'm very tired lol.**

**Enjoy!**


	7. Authors Note - PLEASE READ

Dear Readers,

Thank you for your continued support for this fanfic.

Rest assured, it is not discontinued, merely on hiatus.

You see, no sooner had I returned from my trip to Japan, my terminally ill best friend passed away.

We were best friends for 10 years and I'm struggling not to cry just writing this.

Please be patient with me during this phase of grieving – all fanfics will resume in about a month or so, depending on how quickly my bereavement eases away from being an open wound and becomes more of a healing scar.

Thank you again for your support and understanding.

Soulie x


	8. Authors Update - PLEASE READ

May 18th 2015

**For the attention of my latest reviewer, "wanted"**

How dare you. How fucking dare you! I did not start this fanfic hoping that someone I love would die so I could abandon it! You don't know me, you can't put a time limit on my grief. Let's see how much you feel like writing a light-hearted romantic fanfic when someone close to you has died.

You don't care that I've lost one of the most important people in my life. You don't care that I'm still suffering nightmares about the pain she went through in her final hours. Maybe if it had been a parent or sibling or - heaven forbid - my husband, you'd be more understanding, but no, because it was 'just a friend' who died, you think that gives you the right to guilt me into writing a half-assed chapter so I don't inconvenience you any further. No doubt you'd also guilt me if that half-assed chapter wasn't good because I couldn't put my heart into it.

Well I'm sorry, but that isn't how real life works. My heart is now one piece missing because a person close enough to be my sister is gone. If my pain and suffering is bothering you so much then don't follow me anymore, don't read my work, go ahead and berate me online from the behind the safety of your computer screen. I don't care.

**To my REAL loyal readers who have been patient with me, **

Thank you. Thank you so very much for your tolerance and kind words. And I'm sorry if this angry outburst has tainted your view of me. Alas, I am a real person with real emotions which are unfortunately holding me hostage. I am getting better everyday and will resume writing as soon as possible. I want to continue to write decent work which you will enjoy, not put out something rubbish or half-hearted because I'm afraid of losing you, my reader base.

Thank you again for your understanding xxx


	9. That Dog

_Hello readers._

_First, a huge thank you to everyone for being so patient with me in this very difficult time. Your kind words have been a great comfort to me._

_Secondly, I hope this chapter, though a little shorter than the others, will make up for the lack of updates._

_Again, thank you all for your patience and understanding, and please enjoy this chapter._

_Soulie xxx_

* * *

As he sat at his computer, Hiro reflected on what turned out to be a very productive day.

On top of witnessing a verbal smack down, courtesy of Go Go, he also had a date for tomorrow night, also courtesy of Go Go, and had made some headway in creating an inhibitor program for his microbots.

Programming the miniature robots with the three Laws of Robotics was not as easy as he first expected it to be. Given that he had created them with no limitations whatsoever, it was proving difficult; the free-thinking microbots were fighting him all the way, treating the Three Laws program as a virus and not letting it take hold. Being an optimistic 14 year old with no real experience of assessing the risk his microbots might have posed, he harboured no second thoughts as to how they might be exploited by less honourable people.

The incident with Callaghan made him see otherwise.

"Hey," Aunt Cass said as she stood at the top of the stairs. "How's the college work going?"

"Not bad, thanks."

"This came for you this morning," She mentioned, handing him a small parcel. "I would've given it to you earlier but it was so busy I didn't get the chance."

"I'm glad you didn't." Hiro smiled as he looked at the sender address in the corner of the parcel. "It would've ruined the surprise."

Cass shot him a confused expression.

"It's a present for Go Go." He admitted.

"Aww, how sweet!" She grinned. "Can I be nosy and ask what you got her?"

"It's something I know she'll like." He beamed up at his aunt confidently.

"I'm sure she'll love it." Cass smiled at her nephew proudly.

He was such a thoughtful young man.

"Let me know when you want a snack, okay?" She said, going down the stairs.

"Okay, thanks." He answered.

Baymax looked at the satisfied grin on Hiro's face.

"Hiro, in light of your blossoming relationship with Go Go," He began. "I have downloaded additional database information surrounding interpersonal affection and the legal age of adolescent interaction."

"Legal age?" Hiro asked, his voice full of confusion. "We're going to the movies, Baymax, we're not going out drinking."

"You appear to misunderstand the meaning of legal age." Baymax mentioned. "I wish to advise you about some complications that may arise as a result of dating an individual of a different age bracket."

"Jeez Baymax, you're as bad as Wasabi," Hiro laughed. "Go Go isn't old enough to drink either, you know – college student ID or not, we wouldn't be allowed in a bar."

Baymax looked at the box in Hiro's hand.

"What is in the box?" He asked, his advanced hyperspectral cameras were more than capable of seeing through the thick packaging, but he determined that his curiosity was better served by asking directly.

"How can you not know?" Hiro wondered, confused. "You were there when I ordered it."

"I was more concerned about your health than what you were doing on the computer." Baymax replied.

"Okay, I'll tell you, as long as you keep it a secret," Hiro insisted. "I love Aunt Cass but I couldn't tell her what it was – knowing her, she'd blurt it out by accident."

Hiro quickly glanced to the left, and then the right, as if to make sure that no one else would overhear them.

"You know Go Go loves bubblegum, right?" He began. "Well, there's a company in Seattle that imports unique flavours of everything from candy bars to soda."

Baymax tilted his head at Hiro.

"Where else was I going to find a limited-edition flavour of bubblegum?" Hiro grinned. "It's chocolate-cherry-coconut."

"You mean Black Forest cake." Baymax corrected.

This time, Hiro tilted his head at Baymax.

"Cass has been teaching me her most popular dessert recipes," He mentioned. "Chocolate, cherries and coconut are all ingredients used in the Black Forest cake."

"Wow, I didn't know you were getting so into it." Hiro smiled.

"Tadashi programmed me with adaptive technology, I am able to learn as long as the information is there for me to access."

Hiro looked up at Baymax with great appreciation. Tadashi would never know just how much the big white robot had influenced young Hiro's life, it was almost as if he knew something was going to happen to him, and that Hiro would need a positive influence to help keep him on the right track.

"You think maybe you could teach me how to make that?"

"Cass would make a better teacher," Baymax insisted. "It is her secret recipe and I know she would appreciate spending time with you."

Before Hiro could say anything, a light began to flash on Baymax's arm and a small beeping noise rang out. Sometime after the Callaghan incident, Hiro had installed an additional sensor into Baymax's programming; it was designed to alert him of any trouble in the city, based on either a sudden change in the normal traffic and pedestrian patterns, or an increase in calls to the police.

"C'mon Baymax," Hiro placed the box on his desk and stood up. "We better suit up and see what's going on."

* * *

Go Go rolled her eyes at Honey Lemon as she rifled through all the clothes in her wardrobe.

"Is this really necessary?" She wondered.

"Uh, yes!" Honey squeaked. "You have a date tomorrow, you need to pick out something to wear."

"I don't get what the big deal is." Go Go insisted.

"Your first real date with Hiro, _that's _what the big deal is." Honey smiled. "You need to make a good impression on him."

"Haven't I already done that?" She wondered. "I mean, we're dating."

"Oh, Go Go," Honey sighed. "He needs to see you outside of college, outside of our group – he needs to see you as a woman."

"I'm pretty sure he's seen me that way by now…" She mentioned, recalling the incident when he opened the bathroom door without knocking.

"You're his _girl_friend, don't you want him to see you as a girl?"

A thought suddenly flashed to the front of Go Go's mind and she pointed at Honey Lemon indignantly, hand on her hip.

"I am NOT wearing a dress!" She insisted.

"I had a feeling you'd say that…" the blonde girl sighed again.

"Look, I get what you're trying to do, but I'm not changing who I am for anyone." Go Go insisted. "Not even for Hiro."

"I'm not asking you to change who you are, Go Go," Honey corrected. "Don't you think Hiro would appreciate that you made an effort on your first date?"

Go Go looked over at the white dog plush Hiro had helped her win. After he left the other night, she moved the soft toy from the entry side table to the desk in her room. She was not about to change who she was just to please someone else, but she also didn't want him to think she didn't care enough to step out of her comfort zone for a few hours.

"Wait a minute, what's this?" Honey exclaimed as she pulled something hidden at the back of the closet.

Go Go let out a sigh of frustration as she looked at the garment in Honey's hands.

"Ugh… _that…_" She breathed exasperatedly. "Mom bought me that for my cousin's wedding last year, I didn't end up going because I had the flu."

"It's so pretty!" Honey cooed.

Honey had taken fashion design as one of her electives in high school, a subject she was rather passionate about, and the love for clothes and sewing had followed her into university. When she wasn't using chemicals to dissolve large amounts of metal, she was sketching dress designs and fabric shopping. As she poured over every detail of the clothing she held, a smile appeared on her face that got wider with each passing second.

"It's a cheongsam, a Chinese evening dress," Go Go mentioned. "She was having a Chinese-themed wedding and mom wanted me to 'fit in'."

"Have you even tried it on?" Honey wondered, admiring the hand-embroidered black dragons stitched into the purple silk.

"No, but I held it against myself when she first gave it to me and it's too short," She sighed. "I know I'm not the tallest person in the family but it barely reaches my knees – makes me look even shorter than I already am."

"You could wear your black shorts underneath it, or your leggings," Honey mused, tapping her index finger to her lips a few times. "Oh! And your leather jacket over the top – I know you don't like showing your arms off."

"That'll change once I get my tattoo…" Go Go smirked.

"Never mind that," Honey chuckled, throwing the purple dress at Go Go's head. "Try this on already."

"Fine, fine, but I'm not making any promises."

* * *

The sun had set, the streetlights were on, and Hiro and Baymax, all decked out in their superhero armour, were perched at the top of a 10 storey building. It was not the first one they had settled on in their attempt to discover what had triggered Baymax's scanner. They had circled San Fransokyo at least 5 times, and sat atop numerous buildings, but so far, they had seen nothing out of the ordinary.

"I don't understand," Hiro mused. "Why did the scanner go off if there's nothing going on?"

"Perhaps we have missed something." Baymax mentioned.

"How could we?" He insisted. "We've been all over the city!"

Baymax took a moment to perform a routine scan of the immediate area. He then turned to Hiro.

"I am sensing a lot of movement in that alleyway." He pointed towards the right side of the building they stood on.

"Can you tell what it is?" Hiro whispered.

Glancing down into the darkness, Baymax scanned the area.

"I cannot see what is down there, something is jamming my sensor." He confirmed, mirroring the low tone of the teenage boy.

Hiro warily looked over the edge of the building. Below him there was clear activity among the dumpsters; too much for it to be just rodents but not enough to be human. He turned to Baymax and held a finger to his lips, before quietly climbing down the fire escape that zig zagged along the outside wall. Baymax, unable to implement his stealth mode in such a cramped staircase, waited and watched from the roof.

As silently as possible, Hiro made his way down the metal steps, his eyes not leaving the spot in the alley where the sporadic movement continued. He was about 2 flights of steps from the ground when the movement stopped. He held his breath and waited for something to happen. The garbage bags rustled. Hiro carried on descending the stairs with long, quiet, drawn out breaths. Suddenly, something shot out of the alleyway and into the main street.

"Baymax, follow it!" Hiro yelled out.

As Baymax launched from his position on the roof, Hiro tore down the remaining steps and rushed out of the alley. Whatever it was, it had turned a steady stream of traffic into a cluster of honking cars by running out into the street. It scaled the bonnet and the roof of one of the cars, only to effortlessly leap down to the ground via the trunk and dash away.

"That looked like a dog," Hiro noted as he clambered onto Baymax's shoulders. "It can't have gotten far."

Baymax elevated 10 feet from the ground and gave chase, keeping a close eye on the unidentified anomaly. Hiro was right, it was definitely a dog, but unless it was an advanced robot dog with some kind of electro-magnetic protection, there was no reason for Baymax to be unable to scan it. As it ran under the streetlights, they could see that it was a white, medium to large breed of dog; it was pretty fast for such a bulky beast.

Panicked, the animal accidentally ran down a dead end alley. Baymax landed at the entrance of the alley, blocking the animal's only exit. Hiro jumped down from his place on the robot's shoulders and slowly approached.

"It's okay," Hiro held up his hands. "I won't hurt you."

The dog whimpered and backed up further against the dead end wall.

"Baymax, can you give me some light?" Hiro asked, not taking his eyes off the dog.

Equipped with a torch in his index finger, Baymax shone a small beam of light towards the frightened animal.

"It's a white Bulldog…" Hiro breathed as he removed his helmet.

He had been seeing a white Bulldog in his dreams. Well, technically they were nightmares but the dog within them was protecting him. In a way, he saw the white Bulldog as the protective spirit of his brother, and took it as a sign that Tadashi was still watching over him. Plenty of people in San Fransokyo had pet dogs, but this was the first time Hiro had ever come across one that matched the one in his dream. Hiro might have been happy to see the Bulldog, but the Bulldog was frightened and did not seem pleased to see him. He crouched down to the Bulldog's level and inched closer, smiling.

"Does it have a name tag or other identification?" Baymax wondered.

"I don't see one," Hiro replied, still moving toward the dog. "Hey buddy."

He slowly reached out his hand to the dog. Perhaps sensing the sincere tone of Hiro's voice, the Bulldog relaxed a little and cautiously approached to sniff the boy's outstretched hand. Her eyes focused on Hiro as she snorted and sniffled intensely. After a moment of hesitation, the Bulldog put her head under Hiro's palm. He smiled widely, and began to pet the now placated dog.

That's when he noticed a small metal plate, no bigger than his thumb, at the back of the dog's head.

"What is this?" He wondered as he gently touched it.

The Bulldog whimpered and backed away again.

"That's the weirdest identity chip I've ever seen." Hiro turned to Baymax, standing up and putting his helmet back on. "Maybe that's why your scanner didn't work on her."

"I do not think that pet identity microchips have the capability to interfere with my scanner." Baymax remarked.

"It doesn't exactly look like the kind of chip normally used by vets though, does it?" Hiro wondered. "Mochi is microchipped and it's not on the outside of the skin like that one."

He turned to the back wall to call the dog over, only to find that the dog had gone.

"Where'd she go?"

"She walked away while you were talking." Baymax declared monotonously.

"Baymax!" He groaned. "Why didn't you stop her?"

"I did not know I was supposed to prevent the dog from leaving."

"Never mind, let's go for another flight and see if we can find her again." He decided. "She must be someone's pet, if we can't find her we should probably try to find her owner instead..."


	10. That Dream

"No."

"But Aunt Cass-"

"Hiro, no, I have to draw the line somewhere." Cass told him sternly. "I'm happy that you have a girlfriend, and I'm proud of you for being in college at your age, but this is too much."

"But I don't want to keep her," Hiro insisted. "I just want to help her get home – she's lost and she was almost hit by a car."

Cass looked at her nephew's determined face, his eyes full of sympathy. She then glanced at Baymax.

In the arms of the rotund white robot, was an equally rotund white Bulldog. She wasn't wearing a collar, had no pet registry tattoo or name tag, but she was clearly socialised and well cared for (if the size of her belly was anything to go by); someone must have owned her. Cass had to admit that the Bulldog's wrinkled face was pretty cute – the dog was panting and her tongue was hanging out – it looked as though she were smiling.

"Please," Hiro pleaded. "Just one night – I'll take her to a shelter in the morning and they can scan her for a microchip."

"We don't know if she's good with cats." Cass mentioned. "What about Mochi?"

The Bulldog reacted to the word 'cat' with great anxiety and began quietly whimpering and wriggling in Baymax's grip. Upon hearing his name, Mochi appeared from around the corner and meowed. Suddenly everyone froze as Mochi and the Bulldog locked eyes with one another. For a few moments, there was complete silence. That silence was swiftly broken when the Bulldog, terrified of Mochi, slipped out of Baymax's grip and hid behind him, shaking and whining. Mochi arched up his back and hissed at the intruder, causing the dog to cower in fear. Mochi stretched and yawned and walked back in the direction he had appeared from.

"I guess that answers that question," Hiro nervously chuckled.

Cass sighed heavily.

"Okay, okay, she can stay for one night," She agreed, with one hand on her hip and the other wagging her finger at him. "But whether she's chipped or not, you'll have to leave her at the shelter; one pet is enough."

"Thanks Aunt Cass!" Hiro cheered, giving her a hug. "You're the best!"

"Yeah, yeah, just make sure she stays out of trouble." Cass giggled as she walked away. "And give her a bath, she smells like she's been digging through the trash."

Hiro watched with a puzzled expression as Baymax picked the anxious Bulldog up and began to pet her gently. How could they give her a bath with that metal plate on her head? What if it contained an electrical current? It could be very dangerous putting her in water, especially if it didn't have a protective coating… What kind of device would require that? But then again, what kind of person would implant something onto an animal with an electrical current running through it?

As these questions bounced around in Hiro's mind, Baymax carried the Bulldog up to Hiro's room.

"Wrinkles." Baymax announced.

"Huh?"

"This dog has a lot of wrinkles." He repeated as he touched her jowls.

"Some breeds do, Baymax," Hiro laughed.

"Wrinkles would be a good name for this dog." Baymax suggested.

"Woah, hold on there," He interrupted. "Don't get too attached, we can't keep her – she already belongs to someone, remember?"

When they got to the top of the stairs, Baymax placed the Bulldog down by the desk, where she flopped onto the floor and promptly fell asleep, snoring loudly.

"She sounds like an old motorbike," Hiro told him, as an idea suddenly sprang to the front of his mind. "Stay here, I'm just getting something."

Hiro ran back down the stairs. Meanwhile, Baymax again attempted to scan her. The scan revealed nothing – no brainwaves, no heartbeat, just nothing. It wouldn't even tell him that she was a dog. All it told him was that she was physically there. Then he looked at the metal plate and decided to scan it at close range. This time, the scan brought up something very interesting. At this point, Hiro reappeared with a bottle in his hand.

Baymax tilted his head at the boy.

"I found Mochi's dry shampoo," He informed him. "Technically it's for cats, but it says 'dog-safe' on the back."

"How will it wash her if it is dry?" Baymax questioned.

"It's not really dry, it's a foam that you rub into the fur," Hiro corrected. "They call it 'dry' because you don't need water to use it."

Hiro got a handful of foam, spread it evenly between his hands and started rubbing it in into the fur on the Bulldog's back. Baymax meanwhile used Hiro's computer to access an online database about dogs, and additional knowledge on this breed specifically. The dog was not going to be with them for long, but it couldn't hurt to have the information there for the sake of just-in-case.

"A second attempt to scan her has failed." Baymax declared.

"I wonder why, though," Hiro ruminated as got more foam from the plastic bottle and started rubbing it into the fur on the Bulldog's head, doing his best to avoid the chip at the back. "Maybe that metal thing really is the cause."

"While no information came of scanning the Bulldog, I have identified the nature of the metal chip." He began. "It is some kind of neural transmission device."

"Are you serious?" Hiro's eyes widened as he looked at the snoring dog before him. "Why would someone put that kind of thing on a dog?"

"Perhaps someone is trying to learn more about the canine brain functions," Baymax suggested.

"If that's true, then, is she even someone's pet?" Hiro paused for a minute. "I've heard of people attaching mini cameras to their pets to see what they do during the day, but this is totally different."

Baymax blinked a couple of times, curious to see where Hiro was going with this train of thought.

"Maybe… maybe she's a lab experiment that escaped," He contemplated, looking at her sadly. "And if that's true, then we can't take her to a shelter – if they find her owner then they'd just be surrendering her to life as a guinea pig."

"So, what should we do?" The robot wondered.

"We'll take her to college," Hiro decided. "Someone there might be able to help figure this thing out."

* * *

_The sky was pastel pink and orange and yellow. There were bubbles everywhere, just floating and reflecting the sunset sky. And sitting on one of the bubbles, what looked like a young man with a scaly tail that wagged from side to side and dragon wings which glistened in the light. Then he turned around and smiled._

"_Hiro…"_

_His cheeky face beamed with a happy smile and his messy hair was adorned with a small pair of tightly curled horns, like those of a ram. He stood up on the bubble and held out his hand. She looked down and saw that she too was sitting on a bubble, not far from him. She held up her hands and arms, and observed that they had golden stripes strewn across them. A white tiger tail came into view, also decorated with stripes of gold. That's when she realised that he was holding out his hand for hers._

_As the bubble she sat on drifted towards him, she reached over to touch his outstretched hand. Once she got hold of it, the bubble beneath her burst, and he pulled her onto his bubble, still bouncing away in the retreating sunlight._

_More and more bubbles appeared, as if taunting them to jump from circle to circle. He let go of her hand and bounced onto a nearby bubble, laughing as he landed on his stomach and bobbled about on the sphere of soap film. The bubble rolled around with him clinging to it and laughing jovially._

_He sat up and waved her over._

"_Come on, jump, it's fun!" He assured her._

_She shook her head, she was nervous about jumping – what if she fell?_

_He put his hands together, and when he drew them apart, a bubble formed in his grasp. Once it was big enough, he gently pushed it towards her. She glanced at the approaching ball and hesitated. But when she looked over at his smiling face, she conceded and leaned over to grab it. As she clung to the fragile yet hard-wearing loop, she too rolled with the bubble as it gently spun towards him. The sun was setting, and his bubble was heading toward the pale moon that now hung in the sky._

"_Wait for me!" She pleaded._

"_Always," He replied, steering his bubble back to her._

_He reached out his hand once more and just as she grasped it-_

Go Go shot up, jolted from the dream she was having.

She sighed as a warm feeling spread through her whole body. That was certainly a nice dream, the nicest she'd had in some time. She rubbed her eyes wearily and got up to get a drink. It was perhaps her anticipation of going on a date that had stirred such a pleasant dream. Walking past the vivarium in which Imugi slept, she stopped for a moment to watch her beloved iguana. Imugi was getting very colourful lately, her legs and belly were turning slightly orange.

"It's getting to that time of year again…" Go Go said to herself with a smile.

She went into the kitchen, opened the fridge and took out a bottle of water. On the way back to her room, she once again stopped to look at Imugi. She recalled the first time Imugi began to change colour, and the panic that set in as she thought her pet might be sick. Finding a vet that specialised in reptiles wasn't all that hard – San Fransokyo was home to many specialist veterinarians – and luckily there was nothing wrong with her, but the fear remained long after Go Go found out that the colour change was due to Imugi being in season.

"I'll get you a treat tomorrow," She promised, fully aware that Imugi would not answer her. "Hibiscus flowers sound good?"

The rock iguana did not respond, and continued to sleep soundly as her owner put her hand on the glass for a moment. Go Go grinned at her sleeping pet and made her way back to her bedroom. She took a drink from the water bottle and set it on her desk. Once again her eyes wandered to the white dog plush. Picking it up, she smiled widely.

_Dammit, Hiro, why are you so cute? _She thought.

What was it about him that sent her senses reeling? She didn't know for sure, but given how good it felt, she didn't really care either. She placed the soft toy dog by her pillow and climbed into bed, hoping to continue the dream she awoke from.

* * *

It made no sense at all.

She was definitely there last night, but when Hiro woke up the next morning, the white Bulldog was gone. As he walked through the college gates, he tried to figure out how she got out and why she would leave. There was no way she could've jumped out the window, and she was too chunky to fit through Mochi's cat flap – given her obvious fear of cats, he doubted she'd go near it in case she came across Mochi in the process.

"I just don't understand…" He muttered to himself.

"Don't understand what?"

Hiro turned to see Fred standing next to him.

"Oh, nothing," Hiro said.

"I don't understand nothing either," Fred agreed. "I mean, if it's nothing, then it doesn't exist, but if it doesn't exist, why do we have a word for it?"

"Dragons don't exist," Hiro reminded him. "We have several words for them."

"Ah! But they _do_! Or at least they used to," Fred insisted, excitedly waving his arms. "I saw this video online, about an ancient relative of the Komodo dragon, it had blood-thinning venom that could make its victims bleed to death!"

"No fire or flying?"

"Hey, we're talking reality here," Fred noted. "But someone has worked out the scientific plausibility of a giant lizard being able to fly and breathe fire; it's totally doable!"

Hiro chuckled at Fred's innocuous and enthusiastic comments. Intentionally or not, Fred always managed to cheer people up with the funny things he said and did.

"So, are you excited or what?" Fred asked, nudging Hiro with his elbow.

"You mean about tonight?" Hiro replied. "Yeah, kinda nervous too, like I said yesterday, I've never been on a date before."

"Hey, don't worry bro, you'll be fine," Fred patted Hiro on the back. "Just remember what I told you, relax and have fun – that's all there is to it."

"You speaking from experience?" Hiro questioned.

"Hey, when I was your age, I used to hang out with girls all the time," He mentioned. "I'm no Casanova, but trust me – girls like to chill and have a laugh as much as guys do."

At that moment, a tall redheaded girl wearing glasses ran up to them; a large stack of papers in her arms.

"Hi Fred, I'm sorry to bother you, but my Buhi is missing!" She squeaked, handing him a piece of paper from the stack she held. "You haven't seen her have you?"

"Sorry, Lotus, I haven't." Fred apologised, handing the paper to Hiro

Hiro glanced at the poster she had given him and gasped when he saw the photo printed on it. This 'Buhi' looked almost identical to the white Bulldog from last night. Well, almost. This Bulldog was smaller and had big bat ears sticking up. Not to mention there was no sign of the metal plate.

"I did see a dog like this, but not with ears like that." He announced.

"The dog you saw, did it have ears that flop down like this?" She placed her posters on the floor for a moment and held her hands up on either side of her head, with her fingers touching her palms.

"Yeah!" He said.

"No, that's not her," The girl sighed, picking up her papers once more and pushing her glasses along the bridge of her nose. "The dog you saw is an English Bulldog, but my Buhi is a French Bulldog – see the bat ears? All Frenchies have them, the English ones have drop-down ears."

"Looks like you finally switched to a veterinary degree." Fred grinned knowingly.

"Am I THAT obvious?" She asked sheepishly. "Sorry, I just love animals, especially dogs!"

"We noticed." Hiro chuckled.

"Dad wasn't happy when I wanted to transfer from legal studies to veterinary medicine," Lotus admitted.

"Hey, you gotta do what makes _you_ happy." Fred insisted.

"Yeah, you're right," She agreed. "Well, if you see or hear anything, please call me – my number is at the bottom there."

And with that she ran off to the next person she saw.

"Poor kid," Fred sighed. "When I was little, my hamster went missing and I got so upset, but then mom explained that he had gone to be with his hamster family."

Hiro gave Fred a sideways glance, not sure if he was joking or not. He examined the poster closely. What were the chances of him finding a lost Bulldog one day, and another Bulldog going missing the next day? Is someone stealing dogs and using them in weird experiments? He also wondered why she would bring her dog to college with her. Although, if she was a veterinary student, it would make sense to have animals with her during class – he recalled seeing someone in the robotics lab making rocket boots for their cat once, so having pets at university were a lot more common than he first thought.

"What did _she _want?" Go Go asked, making her presence known.

"Oh, Lotus? Her dog is missing, she was just asking if we'd seen it." Fred answered.

"Hmm…" She folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"I've never seen her before," Hiro said. "How do you know her?"

"That's Kendra's sister." She replied. "She's a nice enough person, too bad about her family."

"No way!" Hiro denied, watching the sweet-mannered girl approach other students and hand out missing posters. "She's nothing like Kendra."

"I couldn't believe it myself, I mean, they look nothing like each other and they're total opposites," Fred laughed. "But a few months back I overheard them arguing with the Dean about having to share a dorm room just because they're sisters."

"I've only met Kendra once and once was enough," Hiro chuckled. "I can't imagine being related to her."

"I know, right?" Go Go said. "Better keep an eye on the situation though, just in case."

"Just in case, what?" Fred wondered.

"Well, if it turns out that Kendra is behind this, then she and I are gonna have a little chat." She glowered.

"She wouldn't do that to her own sister, would she?" Hiro questioned.

"Oh she would," Go Go insisted. "And if she has, there's going to be trouble…"

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed this chapter, dear readers, I am trying to intertwine some action into the cuteness. Fear not, the date is coming soon!_

_Thank you for your time xxx_


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